Paths Divided
by Starwin
Summary: -COMPLETED- Things have changed between the girls of WITCH. Their friendship is slowly crumbling apart after the terrible events of "Unmaking the World". Each girl will have to chose their path and pick their side as their paths are divided.
1. Life

**Disclaimer: **This is fanfiction. No one gave me permission (or commission) to write it and I certainly don't own the WITCH franchise. This story is free and may not be sold.

**Rating: **This story is rated T for Teen due to language, violence and shit like that. See, we haven't even started yet and already there is bad language!

**Advanced Notes: **This is a bridge story between "Unmaking the World" and Part 3. As such, I highly recommend that you read "Unmaking the World" first (and Part 3 last, if you are reading this after I have started posting part 3).

(Yes that's the last pre-note, you can now get to the story, enjoy!)

* * *

"Paths Divided"

By: Starwin

* * *

**Chapter 1 - Life**

* * *

Dark clouds swarmed across the sky, concealing the stars and moon behind a veil of silver. A violent wind rushed through the world, making the trees flail wildly and the window shutters rattle. It was a night that only the fool-hearty ventured into.

The streets of Heatherfield were lit by tall florescent lamps that cast pools of light onto the asphalt roads. The metal poles swayed back and forth with an eerie creaking.

And, on one particular street, one of the lamps flickered. The light struggled to stay on before finally being consumed in shadows. This was not such an odd thing in and of itself, street lamps went out all the time. A moment later the lamp across the street did the same thing.

But two streetlamps going out, so close together, were nothing more than coincidence. Until a third light followed suit and died into darkness. The empty city held its breath as the wind died. The world waited as though something terrible were about to happen.

With a roar like thunder the wind returned in a gust more powerful than any so far. The invisible wall of air raced across the ground and in its wake the lights of the city were snuffed out. The dark, endless, night pressed in upon the world, devouring it whole.

Under the cover of shadows, a lone person moved through the darkened streets of Heatherfield. The person moved with unwavering purpose and speed. Though not running, the mysterious traveler strode at a brisk pace.

The moonlight broke through the clouds, shining down upon the city and revealing the soft features of the girl who walked the dark streets. Her hair was turned silver by the moons glow but, her cold eyes did not reflect the great white orb as she looked at it. Quickly as they had opened the clouds closed, hiding the moon as if it was frightened by the girl's stair.

The wind continued to howl as it raced across rooftops and down the streets. But for all its might the wind seemed to have little effect on the girl, save to cause her long hair to dance along behind her.

She came to a stop before a metal mesh gate. A steel chain and lock had been thread through the fence, holding the gate closed. Gently the girl lifted the lock holding it in her hand a moment before crushing it and ripping the chain away.

Without pause she pushed the gate open and strode out onto the grassy field beyond. Dark buildings stood in the distance, but she did not head towards them. Instead the girl walked to a seemingly random spot on the grass and stopped.

She put her hands out in front of her as if feeling for something invisible. As she did so the gem around her neck began to glow with a cold blue light. Her hand snagged in the air. With great care she took hold of the invisible dot with both hands and in one fierce movement ripped the air apart, as though tearing cloth.

Blue light poured out from the open wound in the fabric of reality. The girl smiled a dark, sinister smile. It was still here, just like she thought it would be. But she would have to act fast, the tear was already beginning to heal.

Moving with the grace of an ice skater the girl performed what looked like an intricate dance. The gem around her neck began to glow as powerful tendrils magic burned in the air around the girl's body. With a roar the girl sent the magical arms into the tear she had opened.

The long blue magical arms danced about loosely, their ends no longer visible as they reached out to grab something deep inside the vortex. Suddenly the tendrils of magic snapped taunt and with incredible force, they began to drag something back through the tear.

With on final pull a white haired, middle aged, man was yanked through the rift. The man lay on the ground before the girl, his breathing labored and his body ridged.

"How dare you!" the man snarled as he pushed himself up. "Do you have any idea who…" his eyes went wide as he saw the face of the girl revealed in the rift light. "You…" he growled.

"Yes, Prince Phobos," said the girl coldly. "I know exactly who you are."

In an instant the tear sealed once more, leaving the two in the darkness of the night.

* * *

"Taranee, honey, time to get up," the woman's voice was accompanied by a loud knock. And then the small, dark room was silent again as its lone occupant remained motionless in her bed. "Taranee?" the woman called again.

"I'm up, I'm up," the girl under the covers shouted, her tone irritated. The sound of footsteps reverberated through the floor as the person outside her room moved away and the girl under the covers let her eyes close again.

A moment later the alarm clock erupted with an earsplitting racket. A sleepy arm poked out from under the covers missing the snooze button and knocking the clock off the desk. It small alarm devices fell to the floor, where it continued to beep, in its high pitched wail.

"Alright!" the girl under the covers shouted, throwing the blankets off herself and sitting up. She looked a mess, dark circles were heavy under her eyes and her short black hair, that was usually braided, was a tangle around her face. "I'm up! Stop it already!"

But the alarm clock did not hear her words, it was just a machine. Such a device had only one purpose, to wake someone on time. It could not comprehend the anger its owner was currently showing it. It could not understand the turmoil that tumbled in this girls mind. And it could not possibly imagine the nightmares that plagued her when she closed her eyes.

With a crash Taranee smashed the alarm clock with her foot. The alarm continued. Taranee stomped the clock again and again. Its incessant beeping slowly becoming more drawn-out with each strike until at last it sat silent on the floor.

The girl stood next to it. Breathing hard, her chest rising and falling as she looked at the thing she had smashed. With its final ounce of strength the alarm beeped one last time. With a scream of rage the girl stomped as hard as she could on the clock.

As she did so, something amazing happened. Fire, colored a brilliant red and gold enveloped her bare foot. With incredible force her foot cut the clock in two and its beeping was silenced forever.

The girl stood there shaking uncontrollably for a moment. Her breathing came in gasps. Wrapping her arms around her as if her room were freezing the girl closed her eyes for a moment and let her breathing calm.

Once her breath had returned to normal Taranee opened her eyes. She continued to look strait ahead in the shadowy light of her room. The curtains were drawn shut, but the light beyond them was still dim as though the sun had not yet risen.

Still dressed in her pajamas, Taranee turned towards her door and began to inch towards it. Her hands were stretched out in front of her as if feeling for obstacles. Her foot snagged on a pile of clothing and she stumbled forward, catching herself on the edge of her bed.

Carefully Taranee worked her way back to her feet. She continued moving slowly towards her door until at last her fingers touched the cool wood. Her hand groped for the knob, finding it quickly and opening the door with a click.

Her eyes half closed, Taranee moved out into the hallway, keeping one hand on the wall as she walked. At last her hand touched the metal of another door knob. But there was already someone else's hand there.

"Woah, you look terrible sis!" said the boy attached to the hand. The girl looked up, there was a flash of fire in her eyes and the boy jumped backwards, letting go of the door. Without a word the girl opened the door and quickly moved inside, before locking it behind her. "Hey, no fair I was here first!"

The girl ignored his knocking. Taranee did not bother to turn on the lights, instead she began to strip off her sweat stained pajamas. Still in semi darkness she felt for, and found, the knob for hot water in the shower. Her older brother continued to complain outside the door, but she ignored him. With slow deliberate steps she climbed into the falling water, and sat down, pulling her knees to her chest and closing her eyes.

* * *

Heatherfield Park was much like any other large park. Around its semi circular edge was a dirt path, where early morning joggers often ran. A large open grass field was at its heart where children could play. And separating the two areas was a thick wall of trees, creating secluded areas where teenagers could sneak away from prying eyes.

However in the early morning light the park seemed empty. There were no joggers running the dirt path that encircled the park. There were no kids playing on the field. And if anyone was hiding in the foliage they would be almost invisible anyhow.

The trees danced in the wind and the clouds circled in an ever shifting blanket of gray. Leafs raced through all areas of the park in an endless chase of one another, oblivious to the stormy chaos that whirled above them. And sitting in the middle of all this, hidden by the trees, was a girl with long blond hair.

She looked to be around fourteen, although she was tall for her age. A long white dress flapped around her knees in the wind, while a heavy white jacket was pulled tightly around her upper body.

The girl had been sitting on the green metal bench for almost an hour. Her head was tilted back and her face pointed upwards. She was watching the dark storm clouds high above dance in and out of view as the tops of the trees opened and closed in the wind.

The sky had been that way for over a month now. The clouds did not rain, and the sun did not shine. There was no blue anymore, just an endless gray mass, whirling and churning and waiting.

The weathermen tried dismiss the odd phenomenon as normal weather for this time of year. But the fact remained that the storm had settled over the city of Heatherfield. And traveling just outside of the city limit revealed blue sky and sunshine.

And no one seemed to be able to explain why the clouds wouldn't go away. But the girl who sat on the bench and watched the clouds knew why.

She knew something of magic and this storm was magical in nature. For behind her calm exterior was the strength of a warrior. A warrior who had given everything to save her friend and who had paid greatly for it.

The girl let her memories slide back into the past. Back to a place called Kandrakar and a man named the Oracle. Back to the day that her friend, who she had risked everything to save, had declared that they would no longer be Guardians of Kandrakar.

And since that day the five friends, who had once been inseparable, had grown further and further apart. And the storm in the sky had grown larger and larger.

Movement out of the corner of her eye alerted the girl to someone's approach. But before she could turn to see who it was a voice spoke and told her.

"Hello Cornelia," said the person. A hand took the edge of the bench and the person who had spoken move carefully around it before sitting next to Cornelia. The dark skinned girl was dressed in a large, furry, jacket and dark kaki pants. A hood was pulled up over her head and she wasn't looking at Cornelia.

"Taranee, you aren't wearing your glasses?" Cornelia asked as she saw her friend's face. Taranee turned away.

"I don't need them anymore," Taranee said. "I can see fine."

"It's… it's getting worse, isn't it?" Cornelia asked, genuine concern in her voice.

"I said I'm…" Taranee repeated angrily.

"No, you're not fine!" Cornelia shouted back. "If I hadn't lost my powers maybe I could have healed you!" Tears burned at the edge of Cornelia's eyes. "If Will hadn't made us leave Kandrakar maybe the Oracle could have…"

"Stop it Cornelia," said Taranee as she turned to face her friend. The white areas of Taranee's eyes swirled with a black murky shadow that danced around her pupils. "Every time… Every time we see each other we go down this road.

"It isn't your fault this happened to me. It isn't your fault you can't fix it!" said Taranee. Cornelia looked away. They sat in silence for a long while. The wind continued to rush around them.

From where they sat the two of them could see that the rest of the park was empty. Concealed by the trees this spot was the perfect place for what they needed. Normally, Shell Cave would have been the place of choice. But, with this storm, the waves at the beach front were dangerous and the cave was likely to be flooded.

Besides, Shell Cave had too many painful memories.

"This will be the first time," Taranee's words made Cornelia jump as the blond haired girl was pulled from her thoughts.

"The first time for what?" Cornelia asked confused.

"The first time we've all been together since we left Kandrakar," said Taranee quietly. Cornelia felt a shiver of surprise and realization. Taranee was right. For the last month they had been avoiding one another.

"Except Will and Irma seem to be getting along just fine," Cornelia mumbled under her breath, voicing her thoughts aloud.

"Speaking of which, here they come," said Taranee pointing into the distance. Cornelia looked down the dirt path where Taranee was pointing, but there was no one there.

"Uh, Taranee…" Cornelia started to say, but just as she was about to tell her friend that she was pointing at nothing, the heads of two girls appeared. They were jogging up over a hill in the path.

Cornelia instantly felt a strong dislike wash over her as she watched the two jogging towards them. Will was a girl, but she always dressed like she was a boy. Her bright red hair was very short, like a boys. She wore blue overalls, like a boy. And her choice of clothing colors, blue overalls and a pink shirt, were the horrible choices a boy would make.

Cornelia's eyes moved to the girl running along side Will and found her dislike increase tenfold. Irma Lair, the other tomboy in the group. She was dressed much like Will was, in blue overalls. Her shoulder length brown hair had been tied back in two pig tails. And although she wore baggy clothing, Cornelia knew that Irma was still pudgy underneath.

Irma and Cornelia had never exactly seen eye to eye, even before the happenings in Kandrakar. But now, they downright couldn't stand one another.

While Cornelia was lost in her thoughts the two late arrivals came to a stop in front of where she and Taranee were sitting. Both Will and Irma looked like they were out of breath, Irma more so than Will.

"Sorry… we're… late…" Irma said between gasps. She was clutching a stitch in her side. "We… were…" Irma tried to explain.

"I don't really want to know," said Cornelia coldly crossing her arms, a bad mood overtaking her face. "We're just missing Hay Lin, than we can go and get this over with." Irma tried to glare back at Cornelia, but she still hadn't caught her breath.

"That's what Irma was trying to tell you," said Will. The redheaded girl was in better shape than Irma and she had already recovered from their run. Irma on the other hand, had just lain down in the grass. "We were just at Hay Lin's house. She isn't coming."

"What?" Cornelia said surprised. "But we were all invited. How can she just blow this off?"

"She hasn't left her house for weeks," said Irma, at last sitting up and grabbing her knees. "She wouldn't even open her door to see us."

"But I saw Hay Lin in class yesterday," said Taranee. "Sort of…" Taranee looked sadly away. "Although… now that I think about it she was acting a little odd…"

"Actually…" said Will, her face turning a little red. "That's… that's her astral drop." Both Cornelia and Taranee looked at Will surprised. But Irma just rubbed her arm uncomfortably.

"You mean you knew she was sending an astral drop to school and you didn't think it was important enough to tell us?" shouted Cornelia.

"Well, it was her business, if she wanted to tell you, she would have!" Will shouted back. "I'm not her keeper, I don't tell her what to do!"

"But you are her leader!" Cornelia screamed, standing from the bench and getting in Will's face. "Although lately you don't really seem to care about anyone except yourself!" Her eyes flicked towards Irma. "And your little bit…"

"Stop it!" Taranee shouted, cutting off Cornelia's insult. Everyone turned towards Taranee. "Look at us, we used to be the best of friends…" The other girls looked away uneasily. "Now we can barely stand each other. Did we go through Hell for nothing?

"For the last month we have all been avoiding each other. For the last month we have been pretending like nothing changed. We've been thinking that if we don't talk about it, everything will go back to the way it was!

"But it's different now. We all came back different people. And if we don't work together we are just going to drift further and further apart, until we are so different that we don't even recognize one another." There was silence once more, disrupted only by the wind and the dancing leafs.

"Or maybe it's too late," Taranee whispered quietly to herself, letting her eyes fall from her friends.

"I'm sorry," said Will at last. "I let you all down. I know… I know I made a decision none of you agree with. But it was my decision to make and I made it. After today, if we no longer want to be friends than I'll understand…"

"Will…" Irma tried to interrupt but Will continued.

"Some things we can never undo. Some things we can never make up for. This will be the last mission for Guardians," said Will. Will pulled a small pink gem from around her neck and held it high in the air. The gem began to glow and in a flash it whisked the girls away.

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**Authors Notes:**

**Bam, chapter 1. Wow, it's been a while, like three-ish months (that wasn't really too bad of a wait, was it?). I have to say I am still kind of drained from the last major story. Don't quiet have my "fire" back yet.**

**Currently I have multiple stories doing battle in my head, each one trying to fight its way out and get some page time. But I can only do one story at a time. So this is the lucky story, (after all I did promise ****it that it would be next).**

**Anyhow, this is, for those that don't know, the second part of this story. The first part is "Unmaking the World", which, if you didn't read the disclaimer at the top, you should have read first. If not, sorry, this is not a stand alone piece. Not reading the first part might leave you a little lost.**

**All that being said, like my first story (in this series) there is a release schedule for this one too. A new chapter will go up on the first day of each month for five (well 4 now) months. I am unsure of the start date for part 3 but I already have most of part three worked out, so hopefully not long.**

**Ok, rambling…**

**Thank you everyone for reading. Please feel free to leave a review if it pleases you.**

**Starwin out.**


	2. Light

"Paths Divided"

By: Starwin

* * *

_Previously, on W.I.T.C.H:_

_Phobos has been set free by a mysterious girl who has yet to reveal her true intentions to the guardians. An endless storm covers the town of Heatherfield, blocking out the sun and plunging the town into shadows. And the guardians friendship is stretched thin as Hay Lin refuses to arrive for what Will has called their last mission together._

* * *

_**Chapter 2 - Light**_

* * *

Metamoor and Earth were two worlds divided by an unimaginable distance. So far apart were these planets that the star each encircled could not be seen from the other's surface. Both were invisible dots, on invisible dots, in the vast, black, emptiness that separated them.

And yet, that was wholly untrue. Metamoor and Earth were but mere inches apart when compared to the infinity around them; an infinity filled with light, not darkness. The two worlds were connected, as all worlds in the infinity are. But those who lived within the great, never ending, universe, could not see this; many, could not even fathom it.

The people who inhabited the worlds of the infinity could only get glimpses of the impossibly distant rocks. Or see the flames they called stars, circling in a far off dance. Or dream about the nebulas of gas like a painting across the sky. Or fear the deadly frozen comets that sped past in a blur of brilliance.

Most people did not consider the vastness of space, or the consequences of that vastness. And among the people who did not think about the whirling possibilities of all that was around them and the infinite worlds that the universe held, was Irma Lair.

So, when the magic that connected all things, brought the four girls from the far distant world of Earth to Metamoor in an eye blink, the only thing Irma could think of was…

"Hey, why the heck is it still dark?" Irma asked. The magic of the Heart of Kandrakar had deposited her and her friends just outside a large wooden door, held together by strips of steel. The door was the main entrance of the castle and at the moment, it was closed. The four girls stood at the top of a flight of stairs and save for them, the castle courtyard appeared empty and deserted.

"It's dark because its still night time," replied Cornelia, sounding a little irritated and not looking at Irma. "Metamoor is a completely different world. Besides, we knew we were going to be here early." Irma stuck her tongue out at Cornelia, who did not see.

"I guess we had better knock," said Will, moving towards the doors. But, before Will had the chance to touch the large metal ring, the doors swung open. Warm torch light poured out from within. For a moment the girls were blinded by the golden glow.

"Guardians!" cried a woman's voice that sounded almost on the edge of panic. "We didn't think you would arrive in time!" The voice belonged to a woman with long flowing brown hair. Her face was strained and her eyes were wide with worry as she examined the young girls standing before her.

"Yeah…" said Irma scratching the back of her head. "Sorry about that we were…"

"There are only four of you?" the woman interrupted as she counted the girls again, pointing at each in turn. "Where is the Air Guardian?"

"She couldn't come," said Will, her voice steady and having a very final tone to it.

"I am Seera, Arch Mage of Meridian, you must come with me quickly," said the woman as she turned and motioned for the girls to follow, before hurrying away. Will shrugged and followed after her, the rest of the girls trailing along behind.

* * *

"… and I don't know what we would have done!" Seera continued as the girls almost ran to keep up with her fast pace. "Queen Elyon has been so strained… I mean who wouldn't be… but if you hadn't shown up I'm sure the Queen…"

"Where is this crazy lady taking us?" Irma whispered to Will, Will shrugged. None of the girls had been able to get a word in edgewise while Seera talked nonstop.

"And here we are!" Seera exclaimed as they came to a stop at one of the many doors that lined the hallway. Before any of the girls could ask where "here" was she pushed the door open, revealing five more women inside, all of who looked much less panic stricken. "In you go," Seera said as she gently pushed Will into the room.

"Uh, what's going to happen to us in here?" Irma asked eyeing the room with mistrust as she moved closer to the door.

"You are going to be fitted of course," said Seera. Irma raised an eyebrow but Cornelia nudged her forward before the brown haired girl could ask anything else. Taranee was about to follow after Cornelia but Seera took her arm gently and said, "The Queen has requested your presence at once."

* * *

Taranee followed Seera even deeper into the castle. This time there was no talk. The torch lit hallways were a little friendlier than they had been the last time Taranee was here. But, the dark of night and the emptiness of the castle still made it seem eerie.

At last the woman stopped at the doors to the Queen's chambers and knocked. Elyon's voice echoed from within, bidding them enter. Seera pushed open one of the double doors so that she and Taranee could step inside.

The room beyond was lit in semi-darkness. Oil lamps burned on the walls, but they were not bright, as if their fuel were running low. In this low level of light Taranee could hardly make out the young girl standing on the far side of the room. The magical injuries Taranee had suffered to her eyes did not help either. While Taranee could make out the indistinct colors of the girls robe, of blue and silver, she could not see her face.

"Thank you, Seera," said Elyon, she did not move from her spot across the room. Her words sounded tired, as if Elyon had been up all night long.

"My Queen," Seera said, her voice sounding a little panicked, "you haven't started to get ready yet!"

"There is still plenty of time," said Elyon. Her tone was not that of annoyance but one of weariness, as is Seera were a parent reminding her of something she had to do but kept putting off.

"But…" Seera tried again but Elyon raised a hand to stop her.

"Please, I need to speak with Taranee alone," said Elyon calmly.

"Of course, your highness," Seera said bowing deeply before turning and exiting the room, closing the door behind her.

There was a moment's pause and then Elyon motioned Taranee to come closer. Taranee was happy to see that Elyon was alright. After all, the last time they had seen each other Elyon had been under a powerful spell of control.

As Taranee moved closer to Elyon a strange feeling began to take hold. Taranee could sense something more… something… dark, lingering in the air around her friend.

When they were close enough, Elyon hugged her friend and spoke in a low, but friendly voice, "I'm so glad you could come." The two of them pulled apart and Taranee returned her friends smile. At this distance Taranee could finally make out the younger girl's face. Elyon looked tired and stressed. Her normal glow seemed diminished somehow.

"I have, something to ask of you," said Elyon, when Taranee did not respond. She motioned for Taranee to take a seat with her at a small table nearby.

"I can certainly try," said Taranee as she felt the chair with her hands before sitting in the seat across from Elyon.

"You remember when I was possessed…" said Elyon. Taranee's smile faltered. How could she possibly forget such a thing, even if she wanted to? Elyon continued before Taranee could answer. "… and you used your telepathy to get inside my mind and help me."

Feeling ashamed Taranee looked away. She hadn't been able to help Elyon get free.

"I didn't think I helped very much," Taranee murmured. Elyon looked a little shocked. Quickly she leaned forward and covered Taranee's hand with her own.

"No, you did," said Elyon, looking her friend in the eyes. Taranee returned Elyon's gaze. The blond haired girl danced in and out of her vision as Taranee tried to focus on her friends face. "… and… I know it's unfair of me to ask this… but, well I need you to do it again."

This was the last thing Taranee had been expecting. In fact Taranee thought that Elyon would have been mad at her for invading her thoughts. But, far from it, Elyon was looking at Taranee pleadingly and asking her once more to press into her mind.

"Why?" Taranee asked, the first thing she could think of slipping out. The smile on Elyon's face faltered and she wrapped her arms around herself as though the room had suddenly become cold. She fixed Taranee with a, at least Taranee thought so, frightened look.

"You showed me the way out before," said Elyon. "But whatever that bitch did to me it isn't gone, I can feel it still inside me." Elyon pressed her hand against her breastbone as though indicating the position of her troubles. "I don't know if you can help but…"

"I'll try," said Taranee determinately, cutting Elyon off. Elyon's smile returned, although it was weaker.

Taking a deep breath, Taranee closed her eyes and focused her mind, trying to reach out with her thoughts. But after a moment Taranee knew something was wrong. She opened her eyes and looked at Elyon, who was watching her expectantly.

Taranee closed her eyes again. Still, nothing. Taranee was about to give the bad news to Elyon, the news that she would not be able to help. But, before she could, the darkness behind her eyelids erupted with color and light, such as Taranee had never seen before.

It took the fire guardian a long moment to understand what she was seeing. It wasn't just color, it wasn't just light, it was fire. The whole room was on fire, burning with many different colors of flame. Using all of her strength, Taranee kept her eyes closed.

She couldn't feel any fire, she couldn't smell any fire, but she could see it, with her eyes closed. Experimentally she lifted her hands. Like washed out water color she could make out the outlines of her arms beneath dancing red flame.

Lifting her head Taranee looked around the rest of the room. Much of it was the same orange and red color of fire, but sitting in front of her, only a few feet away was a flame that burned pure white.

"Taranee," said the white flame, speaking in Elyon's voice. "Are you ok?" Taranee nodded as she continued to look at the white fire that was Elyon.

It was not the white flame that kept Taranee's attention, it was the thing inside the white fire. There was something there, at the top of Elyon's chest. A dark spike made of pure darkness pierced into her. Taranee moved her hand towards the shadow splinter that did not belong.

As her hand got closer her fingers began to feel cool and Taranee could hear a sharp intake of breath from Elyon. Taranee almost pulled away, but using all her focus she kept her hand there.

Moving slowly and with the greatest of care, Taranee touched the black spike.

"I'm going to take it out," Taranee said. Elyon's white fire nodded but did not speak. Pulling ever so slightly Taranee began to remove the object that had imbedded itself in Elyon. But as the black spike moved Elyon let out a cry of pain and Taranee stopped pulling.

"I'm sorry," Taranee apologized.

"No," Elyon said her voice sound almost panicked. "Don't stop! Get it out!"

Taranee nodded but did not know if Elyon could see her. With great deftness Taranee continued to pull the spike out of Elyon. The younger girl could not hold back her pain any longer. Her distraught voice cried out as Taranee tugged on the thing that did not belong.

"Get it out!" Elyon shouted, this time her voice was much louder. "Get it out!" Feeling a little frightened Taranee yanked the spike from Elyon's chest and threw it away as hard as she could.

Taranee's eyes snapped open and the world of flame burned away, leaving no trace behind. The fire guardian collapsed forward onto the edge of the table, breathing hard. Across from her Elyon had managed to stay upright, but she too looked exhausted. However, the drained, pale appearance that Elyon had before had vanished. She looked renewed.

"It's gone," said Elyon calmly, rubbing the top of her chest as though feeling for any trace of the spike. "Thank you, thank you so much!" with a quick movement Elyon rounded the table and embraced Taranee in a hug.

* * *

It was still dark outside in the castle courtyard but it would not be that way for long. The feeling of dawn was upon the horizon. Any moment now the sun would rise and a new day would be born onto the world of Metamoor.

The four Guardians stood next to on another. Each girl stood on a different step of the stairs. And each girl was dressed in a beautiful gown of blue and silver. Their heads were turned watching the girl and boy who both stood a step above them.

At the step second from the top was Elyon, gowned in a white wedding dress of exquisite design. And holding her hand was Caleb, garbed in the brown and gold colors of the royal guard, for which he was the captain. A great scar ran down the side of his face. It had been cut by none other than the person who held his hand, though she had not been in control of her actions. Caleb did not blame her and Elyon did not turn away at the sight of him.

Unlike the Queen, no one stood at Caleb's side. The traditional Meridian wedding did not involve bridesmaids or groomsmen. But Elyon had insisted that the Guardians, who had help free Metamoor from the hand of her tyrant brother be present. Although, Elyon had not been able to hide her disappointment when learning that Hay Lin had not attended.

Below them, the people of Meridian crowded the courtyard. There were many chairs, but most of the audience stood. The large circler area was packed wall to wall and even flooded out the front gate.

And, at the top of the stairs, Seera, Arch Mage of Meridian proceeded over the ceremony. Her panic appeared to have subsided, now that the Queen stood before her, hand-in-hand with her husband to be. This would be the first union of two people she had preformed since before Prince Phobos overtook Metamoor.

Seera spoke in a loud clear voice that was amplified by magic. "The traditional joining of lives is performed before dawn," said the Arch Mage, her words calm and filled with strength. Elyon and Caleb were holding hands and had eyes only for each other. "Without the sun, the night seems eternal, like you will be lost in the darkness forever.

"But, there is hope," continued the Arch Mage, lifting her arms towards the sky. "Like the sun rising in the sky a new day, filled with light and joy and happiness is about to begin." As she spoke the light of the sun began to shine over the top of the castle. "Together, you shall find your way out of the night and into a better world.

"As King and Queen of Meridian it will be both of you who guide all of our futures, who lead the people into the light. You both have great love for each other. Let that love extend to those who follow you." Seera placed her own hand atop Caleb and Elyon's hands. "By the magic of Metamoor, I bind you. Let your lives entwine and forever be part of the others." There was a glow of golden magic and when the Arch Mage pulled her hand away rings of golden light burned brightly around both Caleb and Elyon's ring fingers.

"You are one. Now, and forever," said Seera, a pleasant smile crossing her face. Elyon and Caleb turned to face each other, their eyes locked, their hands still gripped tightly. Elyon closed her eyes as she leaned towards the man she loved, to seal their bond with a kiss.

However, the moment never came. An explosion and screams of panic erupted from the far side of the courtyard. People began to run wildly as magic ripped through the air in huge arcs of blue light.

Without being told, Will, Irma, Cornelia and Taranee all moved into a defensive stance, blocking the stairs leading up to Elyon and Caleb. Will's keen eyes searched the dust cloud as she looked for any sign of the attacker.

"No…" gasped Elyon, her eyes wide with horror. "It can't be…" Elyon had recognized the person who had brought destruction down upon her wedding day. Panic and fear overtook her face as she stared at her brother, the former Prince and insane dictator of Metamoor who walked towards them.

"Hello dear sister," Phobos shouted, his voice magically amplified. With a careless flick of his wrist, that one might use to shoo away a fly, he sent a blade of blue fire magic out across the courtyard. It cut down the flank of guards who had been charging on his position.

"You did not think that I would miss this joyess event, dear sister," said Phobos, a cruel laugh in his voice. "And the Guardians of Kandrakar?" continued Phobos, as his eyes fell upon the four girls who stood defiantly looking down on him, blocking his path to Elyon. "I shall enjoy killing all of you!"

Without hesitation Phobos punched the air with his hand. Magic erupted out of his fingers in a deadly blast. The blue bolt of pure magic ripped through the air but before it could hit its targets a shield of brilliant white light erupted around the staircase, blocking the attack.

"Will," Elyon cried, her voice strained as she struggled to maintain the barrier. "You have to…" But Will did not need to be told what Elyon wanted, the red headed girl already knew and was moving to bring the Guardians into the battle.

"Guardians unite!" Will shouted as she lifted the Heart of Kandrakar above her head. Colored light erupted from the Heart. Pink-white light wrapped itself around Will, while, ocean-blue light enveloped Irma and orange-red light, made of fire surrounded Taranee. But there was no light for Cornelia.

The blond haired Guardian stood mystified as her friends transformed around her. However, her inability to change was not the biggest shock Cornelia received. When the transformation magic at last died away Cornelia hardly recognized the girls that stood around her.

Their normal outfits of green and purple had been replaced with garbs of mostly white, with each Guardians color mixed in. The symbol of their element was drawn in a different place for each. Will, over her heart, Irma, her stomach, and Taranee, on top of her hands. The three girls were also older than normal and the usually small fairy wings on their back had nearly tripled in size.

Irma was the first of the three to notice the results of their transformation. She was about to say something but Will cut her off.

"Later," Will said, her face determined and her gaze focused on Phobos. "Guardians, follow me!" Without waiting, Will leapt into the air, up an over Elyon's shield. Irma and Taranee followed, while Cornelia could do nothing but watch.

Phobos had only a moment to dodge, leaping ten feet backwards, before Will unleashed a blast of pure white lightning at the spot he had been standing. Will landed as softly as a feather on the ground, her eyes still locked on Phobos. A moment later both Taranee and Irma landed at Will's sides.

"I see you are not as weak as before," said Phobos, his sinister smile still upon his lips. The cruel tyrant stared Will down. She did not blink or look away.

"Too bad you're just as stupid as ever," shouted Irma. Phobos' eyes broke from Will to glare at the brown haired Guardian. Both her fist were raised as though she were about to enter a boxing match with the white haired man who stood before her.

"And I see _you_ are still as ill mannered as the last time we met," Phobos hissed.

"There are three of us," said Will calmly. "You can't hope to win, surrender and I'm sure Elyon can…" Phobos' laugh cut Will off.

"You are just the warm up," Phobos said, bringing his hands to bear before him. Intense blue magic engulfed his fists. A sneer of utter hatred curled on his lips and with blinding speed he struck out at the girls.

* * *

The three Guardians scattered out of the way of Phobos' attacks while Elyon watched in horror. Without pause he unleashed blast after blast of potent magical energy upon the Guardians. Her mind focused on helping her friends Elyon made to move forward but Caleb put out a hand to stop her.

"No," Caleb said, looking Elyon in her bright, beautiful, blue eyes. "As Captain of the Guard it is my duty to protect you."

"But…" Elyon tried.

"Please, my Queen," Seera interjected, worry on her face. "If anything were to happen to you, Meridian would be lost. You must let the Guardians handle this."

Elyon looked out at the battle below. Her friends were in trouble, Phobos' magic was much stronger than before, she could see her brother was toying with them. And his full power had not been brought to bear on them yet.

As Elyon watched the battle her eyes slid down to Cornelia, who had not transformed and continued to stand only a few steps away, watching her friends fight. Cornelia's face was hidden but Elyon knew her friend must be worried by the sight she watched, unable to help.

Elyon felt Caleb release her hand and she watched as he took a few steps away, moving down the stairs. At first she thought he was moving to comfort Cornelia, but he continued past her. Elyon's voice failed her as Caleb rushed all the way to the bottom of the stairs and out onto the field of battle, drawing his sword.

"Caleb!" Elyon shouted as she moved to pursue him. The Arch Mage's hand grabbed her.

"You mustn't," said Seera, her grip tight on Elyon's arm. Tears were starting to stream down Elyon's face. She knew the Arch Mage was right, Phobos would go for her and with the incredible power he now wielded Elyon wasn't sure if she would be able to win. This was a battle she could not take part in. Her friends efforts would be for not if Phobos killed her.

* * *

'It was almost fun,' Phobos thought as a joyful smile spread across his face. The Guardians retreated from his attacks. They were powerless before him. He had never felt strength like this before. Even the magic of Meridian had never been this strong. He was unstoppable.

The water witch lashed out at him again. This time Phobos hadn't even needed to move to counter it. His magical aura cut the strike down before it was even close. He would make her pay first. Her arrogant mouth had always spat sharp words at him.

Pointing a finger at the brown haired Guardian, who now had a look of fear upon her face, Phobos prepared to unleash a much more powerful attack than any he had used thus far. The girl tried to run but Phobos followed her easily, his energy built, stronger and stronger.

But before Phobos could attack another target came into view. A boy, dress in the colors of the Castle Guard, charged across the courtyard, sword raise above his head.

'This is even better!' thought Phobos. 'The rebel who set my downfall in motion. The husband of my dear sister. I shall kill him first. I shall make her suffer through him, before she dies.'

Moving his hand ever so slightly Phobos brought his magic to bare on Caleb. A blast wave erupted out in all directions as a single string of brilliant light raced across the ground, tearing a great gash in the soil below as it traveled.

Caleb had only a moment, as he brought his sword down to defend. But the steel was no match for such and attack. The sword shattered and the blast of magic lifted Caleb off his feet casting him to the ground where he tumbled several times before coming to a stop. The boy lay motionless.

Phobos laughed. In the distance voices screamed. Murder still in his mind Phobos retuned his attention to the Water Guardian who looked at the fallen boy with terror in her eyes. Slowly, deliberately, Phobos pointed at her. Willing his deadly magic forward Phobos felt the energy build and build until… nothing.

With a fizzle of sparks the powerful blast died at his finger tip. Phobos commanded his power to flow forth once again, to strike down his enemy. But this time there was nothing. All his power, even the magic he'd retained through his imprisonment in Kandrakar, all of it, was gone.

There was no other option, without pause, or taunt, Phobos turned and ran.

* * *

"No! No, please, no!" Elyon cried as she sprinted down the steps, tears at the edges of her eyes. She had pulled away from the Arch Mage's grip, nothing would stop her now. It seemed to take forever to cross the short distance to Caleb's side.

He lay face down on the ground, he did not stir, he did not respond to Elyon's cries of panic.

'This can't be!' Elyon thought, her shaking hands hovering over Caleb. 'It isn't fair!' And then someone was touching Caleb. Anger flashed in Elyon's eyes as she found Cornelia kneeling down next to Caleb, placing her hands upon him. The blood was pounding in Elyon's ears and though she heard Cornelia's words, she did not hear them.

"Elyon!" Cornelia shouted, breaking through Elyon's panic. The younger girl finally stirred hearing Cornelia at last. "Did you hear me? He's still alive! You have to heal him!"

Moving without thinking Elyon extended her hands over Caleb's back. Light glowed around her fingers and spread down into Caleb. She could feel the wound inside him, she could see the damage Phobos had done.

It was bad, she would not be able to fully heal him, not all at once. Such a recovery could take days or even weeks. But she could stop the bleeding and begin to close the wound.

"We're going after Phobos," came the voice of Will. Elyon did not look up at the red head. All her focus was on the man she loved who lay dieing before her. Besides, Will was not talking to Elyon, she was addressing Cornelia. "I want you and Taranee to stay here and get them to safety."

Out of the corner of her eye Elyon could see that Will was pointing in the direction of Caleb and herself. Cornelia could only nod and while Elyon did not look away she could feel Will hurrying away.

"Can we move him?" Taranee asked after a long moment. Elyon did not answer immediately but finally she let her magic fade. She had done all she could for now.

"Yes," Elyon answered as she worked her way to her feet. Taranee took hold of Caleb and lifted him from the ground, one of his arms draped around her shoulder. Elyon quickly moved forward to Caleb's other side to help support him.

"Cornelia!" Taranee shouted. Elyon's eyes followed Taranee's gaze, Cornelia was running across the courtyard towards the castle exit. "Will told us to help Caleb."

But Cornelia did not respond and a moment later she was lost as she moved beyond the gate. There was a worried look on Taranee's face.

"Where is she going?" Elyon asked as she adjusted Caleb into a better position. Taranee did not answer immediately but when she did her voice was filled with worry.

"She's going after Phobos…" said Taranee.

* * *

**Authors Notes:**

**First up, REVIEWERS! Thank you all for posting a review for me! I see we have some returning readers (and in this case reviewers) I'm glad to have so many of you come back for the second part.**

**Thank you to: **lost prince, XV-Dragon, Sokai, Zutara4Ever, DayDreamer9, Darev, Steamrollers Solve All **and **Taeniaea**! You all are the best for taking time to leave me reviews!**

**Readers! Thank you as well! (have an extra !! if you are continuing on from part 1).**

**Let me just get this out of the way: the Arch Mage presiding over the wedding is not Nerrisa. Not anyone from the WITCH universe. She is just a mage… For now at least…**

**Anyhow, I hope you have enjoyed this installment. It was really fun to write once I got off my ass : P I kind of procrastinated the last couple of weeks and re-read some of my previous fanfiction (both posted and un-posted) looking for motivation but all it did was make me want to read more, not write.**

**Next chapter will go up Sunday March 1st… Hopefully earlier in the day than this one.**

**Starwin out.**


	3. Soul

"Paths Divided"

By: Starwin

* * *

Previously, on WITCH…

Will, Irma, Cornelia and Taranee have traveled to the world of Metamoor on one final mission. Upon their arrival Taranee was summoned to the Queen's chamber only to discover a new power while helping to free Elyon from the remnants of a dark curse.

At dawn Caleb and Elyon were wed, but they had only a brief moment together before the tyrant, Prince Phobos, reappeared to wreak havoc upon the happy couple.

Now, Caleb has been seriously wounded. Will and Irma have set out in pursuit of Phobos and, against Will's orders, an enraged Cornelia trails after them…

* * *

**Chapter 3 - Soul**

* * *

At night, when the sun is hidden beyond the curve of the world, predators come out to stalk their prey. Under the cover of darkness, the hunters are free to do as they please and the weak, cower in fear. Hiding in holes and hollow trees the powerless hope for the sun to return and frighten away those that fear its revealing rays.

But the return of the sun is not a welcome blessing for all who are prey. For the young man, with silver-blond hair, the accursed light that spread across the surface of Metamoor only made him that much easier to find.

Had he not grown up in this place, he would surely have been captured or killed already. However, this man, who was once a prince, who was once the heartless ruler of Metamoor, knew many paths of escape. And, he had been given a head start on the Guardians who now chased relentlessly after him.

He would have preferred the magical kind of escape instead of jumping over mud pools or stumbling through thick vine like plants. But, at the moment his magic had failed him. The prince had been left with no choice but to flee on foot through this disgusting, muck filled, place, like some common peasant. Forced to run and hide like a frightened child in the nearby marsh that bordered the castle of Meridian.

The silver haired man was Phobos. Phobos the cruel. Phobos the terrible. Phobos… the coward… that was what people called him now. What people laughed about behind his back. One day he would make them all pay for their treachery against him. But not today.

Today, Phobos ran as fast as his legs would carry him across the muddy ground. His clothing was splattered with runny earth, his muscles burned beneath his robes and sweat ran down his body. This was no activity for a prince! However, he had little choice. The sounds of pursuers echoed behind him. Any minute now they would catch him and he would be their prey.

His mind occupied with images of what would happen to him, if the girls caught him, Phobos did not see the knee deep muck pool. It had looked like solid earth until his leg sank down into the muck and Phobos stumbled forward. He rolled across the ground before crashing to his back.

His weary body ached but he could not stop, he could not rest. Awkwardly Phobos worked his way to his feet, staggering pain shot up his leg and Phobos let out a grunt. This chase could not continue, he would not win, not without his power! And he could no longer flee!

A flicker of anger overtook Phobos' normally calm face, with uncontrolled rage his fist pounded against one of the nearby marsh trees in frustration. He had done as that wretched girl had asked, he had attacked his sister. Had his power not been taken away he would have destroyed Elyon.

Distant shouts brought Phobos out of his troubled self pity. They were closing in, any moment those accursed girls would be upon him. If only he had some magic, any magic left he could…

Phobos looked at the fist he had slammed against the young tree. How could he be so stupid! His most valuable power was the ability to drain away the life force of any living thing and turn its energy into his own.

'Even still,' thought Phobos as he ran a deceptively caring hand across the bark of the tree, 'a tree would not give me much.'

When he had ruled over Metamoor long ago he had tried draining life from every corner of Metamoor, from the oceans from the skies and from the forests. But trees were stubborn and the energy they yielded to him was little.

A flicker of greed crossed Phobos' face as he dug his fingers into the bark and began to draw out the life energy of the tree. In mere moments the green vines that hung from the tree turned brown and the branches curled inwards. The bark cracked and became gnarled. Phobos pulled his hand away and the tree withered to nothing before his eyes.

As he had suspected, it wasn't much. The tree had hardly enough energy to do what he wanted. But now he had just enough magic for what he needed. An illusion spell.

Stepping into the place where the tree had once stood, Phobos began to cast his spell. The slow, dance-like, poses required to cast the spell were almost too difficult for Phobos to perform. Not because they were hard but because of the precious time they required.

The crashing of branches was only meters away now. But Phobos had not finished. He would not finish in time. His eyes met the face of one of the girls and with a quick, sloppy, flick of his wrist he completed the spell.

Two guardians burst into sight, charging strait towards him. Phobos froze.

"Will, wait!" cried the brown haired Guardian, just as her friend ran past the place where the concealed prince stood. Phobos held his breath, afraid that any sound would give him away.

"What is it Irma?" Will asked as she walked back into Phobos' field of view. His eyes were wide. Two fully powered Guardians were standing in front of him. How long could he keep this illusion going? Phobos could already feel the energy slipping away.

"I thought I saw…" said Irma, looking directly at where Phobos was standing. This was it, she was going to attack him. Phobos hands were shaking, it was taking all his strength to keep from running. But then Irma turned her head slowly, her eyes desperately searching the forest around them.

Had Phobos not been so worried about them hearing it he would have let out a sigh of relief. Then Irma did something wholly unexpected, she knelt to the damp earth and pressed her hand against it. Phobos watched in wonder as water bubbled to the surface around her hand and then dispersed in a wave before sinking back into the ground.

"His trail is gone," Irma said. "It's like he just vanished."

"Are you sure?" asked Will, Phobos could not see her face, but her words sounded angry.

"It just ends here," said Irma, getting back to her feet and brushing the dirt from her hands. "I'm sorry…"

"It's alright," said Will.

"Why do you think Cornelia couldn't transform?" said Irma suddenly. Both Will and Phobos were surprised by this, although, each for different reasons. Phobos almost leaned closer to try and hear better.

"I don't know," said Will tiredly rubbing her eyes.

"Do you think it has something to do with the fact that we got an outfit upgrade?" asked Irma holding her hands out to indicate the new clothing. At one point it had been all white, almost glowing with the brightness of sunlight. However, it was now splattered with mud.

"I mean, seriously, white?" said Irma examining herself. "Who thought that would be a good outfit for us to fight in?"

"Maybe no one did," said Will thoughtfully. "Maybe that's the point." Irma raised an eyebrow. "Think about it, when we were Guardians of Kandrakar our clothing bore the colors of Kandrakar." Phobos replayed Will's words in his head. 'were Guardians of Kandrakar', so, they had left the service of the Oracle behind… that was very interesting…

"But now, we aren't guardians of anything," continued Will. "Maybe our clothing changed to reflect that…"

"Do you think they come with new powers?" Irma asked hopefully. Will shrugged.

"I don't feel any stronger," said Will, then she rubbed her arm uncomfortably. "Actually, I feel more drained than ever."

"Yeah, me too. I mean, I know running isn't my strong suit but I really feel wiped out," said Irma, her body drooping slightly. "So, should we keep searching?"

"No," said Will after a moment. "We need to let Elyon know that Phobos got away. If we can't track him than we are just wasting time."

Will pulled out the Heart of Kandrakar. Energy erupted from it creating a blue rift that quickly enveloped the girls. Then, in a flash of light, they were gone.

Relief washed over Phobos. Slowly he let out the breath he had been keeping silent. He would wait motionless for a few more minutes, just to be sure it wasn't some kind of trick. When he was sure they were gone he'd drop the illusion spell and sneak off.

However, Phobos had barely finished this thought when a third person emerged from the foliage. She too had apparently been waiting close by, watching and listening. Her eyes moved to Phobos as she walked determinately towards him.

Panic overtook Phobos, he had been able to fool the other two girls, but her... Her he would not be able to hide from. She had pulled him from the depths of Rakadin. She had squeezed information from him and sent him to this world to do her bidding.

And he had not done her bidding. Her power was astounding, more than even Phobos could ever have possibly dreamt of. It was her power that terrified him, not the girl. And it was the object around her neck, the blue gem that had given him such incredible power.

Cautiously the girl avoided the muck pool that had caused Phobos to fall. With a few more steps she came to a stop in front of his hiding place. Her reflectionless blue eyes piercing through the illusion he had created.

"I expected better from you, Phobos," said the girl coldly. "You are lucky that neither Will nor Irma are very observant, as you missed a few spots." As she pointed at him the last of Phobos' magic slipped away from him. The small amount of energy he had stolen was used up and Phobos collapsed to the ground, his glamour spell crumbling around him.

"I told you to kill Elyon," the girl continued, not waiting for Phobos to respond. There was anger in her voice, although she did not shout. "Elyon!" the girl repeated through gritted teeth. "Not Caleb."

"I… I would have, that stupid boy just got in the way!" Phobos said, his normally calm voice had a fearful tone to it. "If you hadn't stopped me I…"

Rage flashed across the girls face and Phobos became silent, his voice scared away. She knelt quickly and her hand shot out. With a vice like grip her nails clawed into Phobos neck as she crushed his throat.

Phobos' eyes filled with terror, he could feel this girl doing to him what he had done to the tree. Frailness such as Phobos had never felt before overtook his body. The girl let go when he was within an inch of death, all but the very last of his life force stolen away.

"I could kill you and finish off Elyon myself," said the girl as she released Phobos, her reflectionless eyes still watching him while the blue gem around her neck glowed with an eerie blue light. "But it is beneath me."

The girl leaned closer to Phobos, so that she could whisper in his ear.

"I want you to kill Elyon," said the girl, her voice almost happy. "I want you to throw Metamoor into chaos." The girl pulled back there was a cruel smile on her face. But when Phobos did not answer the smile faded and an ugly expression of rage over took the girls otherwise soft features.

"Well?" the girl asked, her voice cold. "Do you want to die a horrible death or do you want to be the most powerful sorcerer in all of Metamoor?" Phobos tried to speak, but he could not. The girl let out a sigh and put an annoyed hand to her face. "Just nod if you want ultimate power," she said impatiently.

Using all the strength he had left Phobos moved his head slightly.

"Good enough," said the girl, her dark smile returning. Kneeling she took hold of his head so that he could not turn away. As she had done on the night she had pulled him from Rakadin, she kissed him, deeply on the mouth.

Phobos' body arched as energy rushed into him. His eyes burned with the same eerie blue power as the gem around the girl's neck. The effect lasted only a brief moment but in that instant Phobos had been filled with power such as he had never felt.

The girl pulled away and Phobos got to his feet, his body was stronger, more muscular. His hair was a brighter blond-silver and glowed with its own light. And behind his eyes, incredible power burned, yearning to lash out and kill.

"Go, Phobos. Wreak havoc and destruction upon this world," the girl continued. Phobos glared at her, as though considering if he could destroy this young, insolent girl who spoke like she commanded him. But the memory of his frail form was still fresh in his mind.

Without a word Phobos opened a rift and stepped through it, vanishing.

The girl stood there for a moment before wiping her mouth and spitting on the ground, disgusted. Phobos was an unwilling pawn and she had little hope that he could do what she wanted, even with all the power she had given him.

But it didn't matter, Phobos had already done what she wanted. Now he would just be a distraction to keep Metamoor busy while she continued towards her real goal.

* * *

Far away, deep inside the castle at the heart of Meridian, Taranee Cook and Elyon Brown stood at the foot of a large bed. Both were tense with worry as they silently watched the healers. Caleb lay motionless on the bed, his armor and shirt had been removed so that the healers could do their work.

Elyon thought she had done a good job healing the man she loved but now that she could see the wound, she felt like she had done almost nothing. A great black mark, the size of a baseball, was prominent in the center of Caleb's chest. Dark winding tendrils extended outward like little veins, as if the wound was trying to spread into undamaged flesh.

The two healers sat by the side of the bed. Both of them had their hands extended over the unconscious Caleb. One held her glowing hands only inches away from the black scar, she was muttering soft words of magic and soothing. The other healer pressed both hands against Caleb's forehead, he remained silent, his eyes closed and face tense with concentration. Their hands glowed with a warm white light as they worked to heal Caleb's devastated body.

Panic suddenly filled the air as a magical rift opened behind Elyon and Taranee. Both girls readied themselves to fight. Flames burned around Taranee's closed fists and golden-white light glowed from Elyon's eyes.

But it was not Phobos that stepped through the portal, it was Will and Irma. The looks on their faces told Elyon that they had not been able to catch Phobos.

"I'm sorry," said Will, her voice betraying her disappointment in herself. "We lost him. He just… vanished." Elyon did not respond.

"How's Caleb?" Irma asked, peering between Taranee and Elyon, desperate to change the subject. Elyon's mouth twitched but she couldn't bring herself to words.

"The healers are doing all they can," said Taranee. "But…" she looked at Elyon, then at Caleb. "We should continue this outside."

Elyon stayed at Caleb's bed while Taranee led Will and Irma outside the room. Taranee closed the doors before continuing.

"Phobos' magic hurt him bad," said Taranee, her voice quiet, although the sound of it still echoed in the hallway. "The healers aren't sure if they are going to be able to save him." Irma gasped and Will bit her lip.

"Is there anything we can do to help Caleb?" asked Will after moment. Taranee shook her head.

"No… but… Will there is something you should know," said Taranee. "I've seen this kind magic power before." Will raised an eyebrow. "When we arrived in Metamoor this morning I discovered a new power, fire sight."

"Oooo, good name," Irma interjected. Taranee allowed herself a brief smile before continuing.

"I think it's my element trying to compensate for my sight loss," Taranee said, waving her hand in front of her eyes to emphasize her point. "It lets me see things, things I can't normally see. A lot like my telepathy, but with my eyes instead of my mind… if that makes any sense…"

Will and Irma shot each other quizzical glances.

"But what does any of this have to do with Phobos? Or Caleb for that matter?" Will asked.

"I'm getting to that," Taranee replied. "This morning, when I discovered my fire sight, I used it to help remove a curse from Elyon." Irma looked surprised but Will's expression was unreadable. "A curse put there by… by Serenity." Will's eyes narrowed but she did not interrupt.

"When I used my fire sight on Caleb, I saw the same kind of magic," Taranee explained. "A spike of dark energy was gathered all around his scar, spreading out like an infection. I wanted to try and remove it, but the healers said he was too unstable and that pulling out that much magic might kill him…"

"You're saying Serenity did that to Caleb?" Irma asked confused. "I mean she's dead right?"

"No," said Will shaking her head. "I don't think she's dead. We know who helped Phobos escape. We know who gave him all that power… There is only one person it could be. Serenity. She's back." Silence settled over the guardians as Will's words echoed in their ears.

Irma rubbed her arm uncomfortably. Over the last month she and Will had spent a lot of time together, nearly every day after school. Only once had Will ever talked about Serenity to Irma, and the redhead had broken down into tears afterwards. Irma had held her friend until Will had cried herself to sleep that night.

"So what do we do about it," asked Irma, finding Will's eyes and searching for any hint of a plan.

"I don't know," said Will clutching the gem around her neck. "I don't think we're strong enough to fight her again, not just the three of us."

"Hey," exclaimed Irma, looking around. "Where the heck is Cornelia anyhow? I thought she was with you Taranee?"

"She ran off after you guys," shrugged Taranee. "I think she was going after Phobos. I've never seen her so angry." Taranee paused. "But you can ask her yourself, here she comes." Both Will and Irma turned to look down the hallway but there was no one there. They shot each other quizzical glances.

Irma was just about to say something when Cornelia suddenly appeared from around a corner, almost running towards them.

It didn't take her long to reach the group, she was out of breath when she did.

"Caleb… alright…?" she asked between breaths.

"It doesn't look good," said Taranee. "The healers are doing all they can… but they don't know…"

"Did you at least get Phobos?" Cornelia asked sharply as though she were accusing Will and Irma of a crime.

"No," said Will gravely. A shadow of anger flickered across Cornelia's face.

"And where did you run off to, Corny?" Irma asked, her tone just as accusing as Cornelia's had been. Cornelia looked away from Irma's gaze. The blond girl's teeth were gritted.

"I went after Phobos," Cornelia said, her angry tone nothing like Irma had ever heard from her before. "I… I don't know what I was going to do to him for hurting… for what he did…" Cornelia balled her fist and closed her eyes. Tears ran down her face.

"But then I remembered, I don't have any powers… I can't do anything… I'm just a weak, little…" her voice choked and she couldn't continue. Cornelia wrapped her arms around herself protectively.

Irma had no words, no reaction, insult or quip. She watched as her friend fell apart before her eyes. Taranee, on the other hand, looked at the ground uncomfortably.

After a short while Cornelia regained herself, avoiding eye contact with Irma.

"I think we should head home," said Will. "There's nothing more we can do here." Will held up the heart of Kandrakar and in a flash, the girls were transformed back into their normal selves.

"Wait," said Cornelia, her voice still a little choked. "I don't think we should just leave. I didn't get to fight Phobos, but even I could see that he was way more powerful than usual. We have to figure out where he got that kind of power and how he escaped from Kandrakar!"

"Serenity," said Will simply. Cornelia's eyes widened in surprise, but before she could ask anything Will continued to explain. "We think that she gave him that power and helped him escape Kandrakar."

"But…" Cornelia tried.

"It's a long story Corny," Irma said, sounding exhausted. Cornelia looked at all three of the girls standing before her, they all looked extremely worn out, as if the battle had taken more out of them than usual.

"But we should still go to Kandrakar," Cornelia said, continuing the thought that Irma had cut off. Irma and Taranee looked shocked by this suggestion, but Will looked downright angry. "Will, I know you don't trust the Oracle, but we need to get some answers here."

"And what makes you think he is going to give us answers!" shouted Will, even though she hadn't meant too. Will looked away, embarrassed at losing her temper. "He'll probably just tell us some cryptic bullshit or something." Will muttered.

"Even still, we have to try," said Cornelia. "If Serenity really is back than we have to do something. She is going to want revenge, Will." Cornelia's words finally seemed to make it through to Will and the redheaded girl nodded.

"Ok, I'll take us to Kandrakar, but I'm not making any promises that I won't punch that bastard in the face." Said Will, half joking, half serious.

* * *

Time and space bent around the four girls as they were magically teleported from one end of the universe, into its very center, Kandrakar. The light that had enveloped them during their journey faded to be replaced by the warmth of the always sunny center of everything.

There was no one here to greet them but it did not feel as though they were alone. The girls had to wait only a few moments before and Elder of Kandrakar approached them. It was a woman, whom they had never met before. She was dressed in the long white robes of the Kandrakar Elders, her hair was long and colored black, an unusual sight as most Elders had white hair, aged with time.

"Greeting Guardians of Earth," said the woman as she pressed her hands together and slightly inclined her head toward the four girls.

"We need to talk to the Oracle," demanded Will. The politeness that had been in the elder woman's voice was noticeably absent from Will's.

"I am sorry, Guardians of Earth, but the Oracle cannot see you at the moment," replied the woman, her voice remaining calm and her features pleasant.

"Why the hell not!" Will shouted furiously. The Elder woman seemed taken aback by the ferocity of Will's voice and the elder's calm expression faltered.

"He is dealing with a crises at the moment," the elder continued. "Without your services the Oracle has been very busy this last month." A slight smile of satisfaction spread across Will's face. Cornelia stepped forward, clearing her throat before speaking.

"And, uh, when can we speak with the Oracle?" Cornelia asked.

"He should be available for a brief meeting in a few hours," the elder replied.

"A few hours?" Irma exclaimed. "You're joking, right?" the older woman looked at Irma confused. "We can't wait around a few hours!"

"I am sorry, but…" the elder seemed to be choosing her next words very carefully. "Since you are no longer Guardians of Kandrakar, you must wait like everyone else."

"Forget this," said Will, summoning out the Heart. "We shouldn't have come. This was a waste of time."

"Will," said Cornelia, placing her hand over Will's before she could activate the Heart. "We don't all have to stay. I'll wait for the Oracle." All eyes turned toward Cornelia. "Look, you saw what happened in Metamoor, I couldn't help you," Cornelia continued nervously, "you don't want to talk to the Oracle, so let me help! Let me prove I'm still part of this team!"

Will's face tensed with thought as she considered Cornelia's words. After a moment she nodded.

"Alright," said Will. "Can the Oracle send her home when they are done?"

"Of course," replied the elder. Will nodded again.

"Cornelia, call us when you get home, ok?" Will said, looking her friend seriously in the eyes. Cornelia smiled.

"Of course," Cornelia said reassuringly.

Taking a step back Will lifted the Heart of Kandrakar into the air and she, Taranee and Irma were enveloped in a rift of magical energy. A moment later the rift shrank back to nothing and the girls had vanished.

"The waiting room is this way," said the elder, indicating that Cornelia should follow her. Cornelia's smile vanished as she scowled at the older woman.

"The Oracle can come find me when he is done," said Cornelia acidly. The elder was taken aback by Cornelia's sudden change in mood. But before she could say anything more Cornelia walked off, leaving the black haired woman stunned and standing alone, still holding out her hand to indicate the way they should have walked.

* * *

Out on the northern side of Kandrakar was a large room, often used for meditation. The room was oval shaped and had two large multi-tiered fountains in its center. The basins of the fountains were connected to make a small hourglass shaped pond. An arching bridge crossed over the basins at the point where they joined together.

The splash of falling water was the only sound that echoed in the large room, until one of the occupants spoke, breaking the silence.

"Hayden, this is stupid," said a short boy, with blond hair. He was sitting cross legged on the floor, across from the person he was talking too. "We've been wasting our time here!" The boy was dressed in a white karate-like outfit, just like the boy he was talking too.

The older boy, who sat opposite him, let out a sigh, his eyes still closed and his hands held up in meditation. His head was shaven bald, but he had started to let his beard grow in. At the moment it was hardly more than fuzz.

"We aren't wasting our time, Alex," Hayden said calmly, opening his eyes and looking at the younger boy, who was stretching out his legs. "We are learning to control our powers, the proper way, through discipline and training."

"We haven't really gotten much of either," said a third boy who was sitting close by. He was Asian and had very short black hair. Like the other two he was dressed in white robes and was sitting on the floor. The three boys sat in a perfect triangle, all facing each other.

"Look, Owin, you just have to give it time…" Hayden tried again.

"Time!" Alex laughed cutting his friend off. "We've been here a month and so far the only thing we've done is sit in this stupid room all day long." Alex stood. "This is a waste of time! I'm out of here!"

"I agree with you," interjected a new voice. All three boys jumped slightly at the interruption. They could hardly believe who it was walking across the room towards them.

"Cornelia?" asked Hayden, his surprise evident in his voice. "What… I didn't know you were here…" Hayden said as he started to get to his feet. Cornelia smiled, but it wasn't a warm smile. A shiver ran down Hayden's spine.

"Did you come to see the Oracle?" Owin asked, his voice was much calmer than Hayden's. "'Cuze we can't tell you where he is, we haven't seen him since we got here."

"No," said Cornelia simply. "I came to see you." This statement seemed to surprise everyone. Both Alex and Owin looked at Hayden uncertainly.

"Uh… me?" Owin asked.

"All of you," Cornelia replied with a smile.

"We weren't exactly on the best of terms when we met you last," said Hayden uncertainly. "Why would you want to see us?" Again, Cornelia smiled and Hayden shivered. That smile, something about it was familiar… and frightening.

"Well," said Cornelia putting her finger against her chin thoughtfully. "I need guides. Someone who has been where I need to go. And someone who can protect me if I need it."

"And where is it you want to go," asked Alex, his voice soft. A half smile crossed Cornelia's face as she looked at him. "And what do you need protection from?"

"Rakadin," said Cornelia. "And the monsters that now crawl its hallways."

"Woah! Hold on, no way!" said Hayden waving his hands at Cornelia as though she were some kind of speeding car headed right for him. "There is no way we are going back to Rakadin. How could we? It was sealed away. We couldn't even go if we wanted to."

"There's a way," Cornelia countered, crossing her arms as a smug expression crossed her face. "I've used the path before, except, that time I didn't have a guide. So, will you come with me?"

"No," said Hayden shaking his head. "We promised the Oracle we would stay here and complete our training." Again, Owin and Alex shot Hayden uncertain glances.

"Is that what all of you want?" Cornelia asked, her eyes locked on Hayden. Something about her eyes bothered Hayden. Something about them was… wrong…

"Yes it is," Hayden respond. It felt as if Cornelia were trying to crush him with her gaze.

"No," Alex said. "It isn't. This place sucks. I've had it with this meditation crap. I don't want to sit and hide my powers, I want to be out there." Hayden looked at the younger boy shocked. Alex moved away to stand next to Cornelia. Only a few months ago Alex would never have said such a thing. Or turn against Hayden.

"I'm coming too," said Owin as he too moved to stand next to Cornelia.

Both of them were abandoning him. It was like an invisible line had been drawn between them. On one side was Hayden and on the other was… Cornelia… Hayden didn't understand. Why where his friends siding against him?

"No!" shouted Hayden losing his composure. "You're not going anywhere. I think we better go see the Oracle before… ah!" In an eye blink Cornelia had crossed the distance to Hayden. Her hand wrapped around his throat cutting him off. Hayden's face filled with panic.

"No," Cornelia whispered softly. "No one is going to see the Oracle. I had hoped you would be less… reluctant." Hayden's gaze moved to Owin and then to Alex, they both had a glazed look in their eyes a look he had seen before. A feeling he had felt before.

A soft blue glow drew his attention back to Cornelia. His eyes looked down to see the Soul of Rakadin around her neck. Cornelia squeeze tighter, bringing his eyes back up to hers and it was then he noticed that he was not reflected in her cold blue eyes.

A scowl crossed her face and in one quick movement she lifted Hayden from the ground and tossed him through the air like a rag doll. Hayden crashed into the fountain, causing one of the marble steps to shatter, before he fell into the basin.

Cornelia turned to look at the two boys who stood behind her, neither seemed to have noticed what had happened. She sent one last glance towards where Hayden had fallen. She would just have to make do with two.

* * *

Deep within the center of Kandrakar, the Oracle sat motionless in concentration. His eyes were fixed on a small dot carved into the very center of a circular section of blank marble wall.

Had anyone been watching him they would have found themselves very confused. The whole room was adorned with elaborate carvings of incredible detail. Yet, this great and powerful man had chosen to stare unblinkingly at a nearly featureless section of wall. In fact, the only featureless section of wall in the entire room, save for the dot at its center.

He had been sitting there for days, staring at the wall. Not moving, not sleeping. He did not need to do either.

A slight disturbance pulled his attention away from the blank circle and he glanced sideways just in time to see a door to the room open. The Oracle already knew who it was. He already knew why she had come to see him, to tell him about the Guardians.

He had already seen what had transpired, the Guardians coming and leaving. But the Oracle had discovered long ago that it was better to let others speak than to inform them that he already knew what they were going to say.

"Forgive my intrusion Oracle," the black haired elder said, bowing deeply to the bald man. "I know you do not wish to be disturbed, but, the Guardians arrived a short while ago."

"Are they waiting to speak with me?" the Oracle asked, already knowing the answer and keeping his features a pleasant, passive calm.

"No, Oracle," the woman continued nervously. "They have departed… all except the Earth Guardian…"

It took every ounce of strength the Oracle had to keep his expression locked on his face. Surely he hadn't heard her correctly. 'All _except_ the Earth Guardian'? He had sense them, seen them with his inner eye. All of them had left Kandrakar, none had stayed behind.

Instantly his mind raced across Kandrakar, searching for the person who did not belong, but he could sense no one out of place, nothing that did not belong.

"But… she's gone…" the elder continued. The Oracle relaxed his smile widening a little. So the Earth Guardian had left too, maybe she had grown tired of waiting… "I don't know where she went, she just wandered off…" But at this announcement the Oracle's expression faltered and his panic shown through. Cornelia was some place in Kandrakar, but he couldn't sense her.

Quickly the Oracle looked back at the blank space on the wall. His eyes found the perfect circle where all the carvings stopped abruptly, leaving only a single dot at its center, surrounded by smooth nothing. It couldn't be… not now… not yet…

The Oracle was pulled away once again as yet another person appeared at his door. There was a nasty cut across the boy's head and he was dripping water on the floor.

"Oracle," said Hayden, he sounded out of breath. "It's Cornelia, she's got the Soul of Rakadin. She took Alex and Owin with her. I tried to stop her, but... but I couldn't… I'm sorry…"

The Oracle had heard enough, he knew where he had to go. Moving with blinding speed he raced past both Hayden and the elder who stood at his door. In less than an eye blink the Oracle had reached the spot that would transport him to the outer reaches of Kandrakar.

The teleport spell activated and he was hurtled through the air, the ground rushing away below him. But none of it phased the Oracle at all. His hands were clasped together, fingers interlaced, his eyes were open and focused towards the tiny dot of a structure that grew rapidly in his vision, until at last he landed softly on stone floor.

But he could already see that he was too late. The gates of the Void stood open, a great, terrible darkness filling the gap between the white marble walls. And at the foot of the door, walking slowly towards it was Cornelia, Alex and Owin. The two boys walked ahead of Cornelia.

"Stop!" shouted the Oracle. The two boys did not stop but continued onwards, vanishing into the shadows of the gateway. But Cornelia did stop, although she did not look back. She stood at the threshold of the great darkness that poured out in long mist-like tendrils.

"You cannot do this!" the Oracle shouted, all traces of calm gone from his face. "If you go into the Void you will never be able to return!"

Turning her head slightly, Cornelia glanced back at the Oracle but she did not respond. And a moment later, she too vanished into the Void.

Closing his eyes and looking away the Oracle gathered strength. There was no choice. He could not leave the door to the Void open.

Reaching out with both hands the Oracle gestured for the great doors to close. The huge marble doors moved slowly, grinding against the ground until at last the closed with rumble that shook the room.

* * *

**Authors Notes:**

**And there you have it, part three. I hope it was worth the month long wait. I know it seems like a long time, but, well, this is the speed I decided to do this story at and I am sticking with it to the end!**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed last chapter: **XV-Dragon**,** lost prince**,** Darev**,** DayDreamer9**,** Steamrollers Solve All**,** Powerloth**,** Taeniaea **and** Zutara4Ever**.**

**Thank you especially to **lost prince** and **Darev **who suggested I add a "Last Time On" section to this story, due to the time between updates. I did consider adding information from "Unmaking the World" (like reminders about Serenity and the Void door and such) but… well that quickly grew to be like pages of information… This isn't TV, I can't just do one liners with a scene to remind people of what happened… so I hope you all remember… if not, you can go back and brush up! ;D**

**And of course, thank you to everyone who is reading and sticking with me through this longish, endeavor. Part three will most likely go up on a weekly basis (much like Unmaking the World did) although I am still unsure how far away it is from completion**

**I thought I would take this chance to share a little something about the original concept of this story. When I first started drafting "Paths Divided" (fun fact: my working titles consisted of "We Were Witch" and "World in Chaos" but neither encompassed the idea of the story) I was going to dedicate a chapter to each Guardian, Taranee for chapter 1, Irma for 2, Cornelia for 3, Hay Lin for 4 and Will for 5 (and yes, I did briefly consider HCTIW as the chapter order at one point). But as I started writing out events I found it was just too constraining to stick with that formula.**

**While some of it remains, most of the idea has been scrapped. I found things just flowed better when I didn't constrain myself.**

**So, now, none of the chapters are about any one Guardian, strictly from their point of view. But the story is more or less the same.**

**Anyhow… rambling…**

**Starwin out.**


	4. Darkness

"Paths Divided"

By: Starwin

* * *

Previously, on WITCH…

Phobos has escaped capture once again and, even worse, his powers have risen to new heights! But it appears that Phobos was just a decoy! The real threat has been hiding among the Guardians, posing as their friend, waiting for her chance to get to Kandrakar… and her name is Cornelia!

Now, she is on a mission through the Void, towards the lost Kingdom of Rakadin with the former Dragon Knights Alex and Owin at her side.

* * *

**Chapter 4 - Darkness**

* * *

Infinity stretches forever. It continues in all directions and exists in all places, without start or end. The universe is infinite. Yet, at the same time it is not. This great expanse of everything has many things that simply cannot exist in something truly infinite.

The universe has a start, or at least a beginning. Few know that the universe has a center, at which sits the fortress of Kandrakar. And fewer still know that the universe has an end. That the great Infinity does not go on for ever and ever. It ends, in the Void; the place where there is no more of anything.

Harsh and unforgiving, few have ever walked in the Void and returned. And only one mortal has ever ventured into the Void more than once. Her name is Cornelia Hale.

She was not alone the first time, her friends had been with her but she had been afraid then. She was not alone this time, her enemies were with her and she was not afraid now.

The nothingness of the Void stayed its distance as Cornelia walked with a slow pace through the place beyond the infinity. At her sides Alex and Owin followed silently.

Unlike the last time Cornelia had crossed the empty wastes, the Void did not press in upon her. The light from the Soul of Rakadin warded away the nothing in a huge area, although how large she could not tell.

"This place feels… wrong…" said Owin, breaking the silence at last. His words were dampened and his voice did not echo.

"This is the nothing," said Cornelia her eyes wandering around the nothing as if searching for a distant invisible star. "The place where the universe ends." Owin and Alex did not respond. "If I didn't have the Soul of Rakadin, the Void would unmake you." Cornelia shivered with memory of the last time she had been here. "It is not a pleasant experience—to be unmade…"

Her words trailed off and the silence pressed in on them again. However, they did not have to endure it for long. The darkness ahead of them pulled away, as if they had reached the end of a long tunnel. But it was not light at the end of the tunnel, it was Rakadin. It was dark ahead, although not as dark as the Void.

Alex and Owin hurried out first, thankful to be on solid ground again. But Cornelia lingered a moment, reluctant to step into Rakadin… or, maybe, to leave the Void, she wasn't sure. Her mind was working as if by committee. Parts of her wanted to press on while other parts wanted her to stay where she was.

At last Cornelia reluctantly stepped into Rakadin, a shiver running down her body as she did. Cornelia's eyes wandered back to the slowly swirling edge of the portal. It lingered a moment in the air before shrinking to an invisible dot and then vanishing completely.

The three of them had arrived in a large entry chamber. Behind them were huge wooden doors. Had the doors not been crisscrossed with heavy, immoveable, metal bars, it might have appeared that Cornelia and company had come through the doors, instead of a magical portal.

Great archways opened the far side of the room. Each one led to a different passage and a different section of Rakadin. Cornelia's eyes narrowed. They were not alone in Rakadin and the passages were not empty.

"Well, well, well," said a snide, obnoxious voice. "Lookie what we got here, an itty bitty witchie an 'er scrawny lackeys." A group of voices echoed dumb laughter.

A tall man with a pointed nose and slicked back, shiny black, hair was standing in front of a group of four or five shorter, rounder, people. He was dressed in a flamboyant red robe and was bedazzled in jewels of all shapes and sizes. And they were blocking the way.

Cornelia smiled pleasantly at him. "I'm looking for a girl called Serenity," asked Cornelia, in the politest of tones, completely unbefitting the situation. "She's about this tall," Cornelia held her hand at a rough approximation of Serenity's height. "Long silver hair… horrific magical powers… anyone?"

More laughter. Owin and Alex looked at each other nervously, sensing danger that Cornelia appeared oblivious too. These men, they were not going to tell her what she wanted to know. If anything they were going to rob them and rough them up a little—maybe worse.

"I'll tell you where she is," said the tall man, a crooked smile stretching his unnaturally thin lips as he advanced slowly towards Cornelia. "If you give me that shiny jewel." He pointed a long, bony finger at the gem that hung around Cornelia's neck.

"I have a better offer," Cornelia said with a mischievous smile. "You tell me what I want to know and I'll let you keep that arm." The man withdrew his arm, a sneer of disgust crossing his lips.

There was no laughter this time, just dead silence as the threat lingered in the air, longer than any words spoken so far. Then the tall man laughed again, but it sounded more uncertain this time.

"You're in no position ta be making threats, 'ittle witchie," the tall man laughed back. His gang laughed too, although they also glanced nervously at each other. "I'm the great and powerful; the mighty; the feared; the Sorcerer: Dolvem of Vasar! Children cower at ma name! Grown men cry! An armies die… what chance—little girl—da you think yer weak magic 'ill have on me?"

"You know, I'm not really sure. We'll just have to find out, wont we?" said Cornelia darkly. There was an insane gleam in her reflectionless eyes. Owin and Alex looked back at Cornelia. They were about to protest, when Cornelia lightly touched the cold metal frame of the gem around her neck.

A surge of power rushed out from the Soul in great blue spirals that made the air crackle with deadly energy. A violent wind spun outwards from Cornelia, tossing her hair out behind her and causing the group of men to shield themselves from its force. Swirls of energy danced this way and that as they flowed through the room until, at last, they connected with Owin and Alex. Blue fire erupted around them, enveloping the two boys whole.

Screams of pain echoed around the chamber, bouncing off the walls and striking like daggers in the ears of everyone. The fire of the Soul burned brighter, searing away the clothing fashioned by Kandrakar but leaving their skin untouched. Long tendrils of silver ribbon formed out of the swirling energy and wrapped around the boys. The ribbons of silver lasted only moments before condensing into armor and latching onto skin.

The pain, that both boys seemed to be experiencing, was sealed away with silver Dragon masks that closed over their faces. However, the transformation did not stop. The screaming did not stop. The silver armor continued to spread as though it were liquid, seeping into their flesh, fusing with their forms, until armor and boy were indistinguishable.

The gauntlets, that covered their hands elongated, each finger becoming sharp and claw like. At their feet, long bladed talons stretched out, the tip of each toe slicing into the marble floor. The dragon masks came alive, their pupils burning with blue flames in black eye sockets, their jaws grinding with razor sharp silver teeth.

Both boys grew larger, the size of lions. They no longer stood on two legs but moved on all four. Giant leather wings, wrapped in metal erupted out of their backs. They were no longer human shaped, they had truly become dragons.

"Try not to kill all of them," said Cornelia in an icy tone, her glare finding the terrified men on the other side of the room. Both dragons leapt forward, claws, talons and teeth, cutting and slashing as the gang fled in terror. The tall man tried to run, but was knocked to the ground by one of his own.

He scrambled across the floor on all fours, trying to scurry away between the panic that trampled around him. But he did not get far before a pair of long legs blocked his path. Slowly, afraid of what he would see, his eyes moved upwards and he found Cornelia towering over him, her reflectionless gaze locked on him.

The man tried to back away, but a low growling froze him in place. Chancing a glance behind him, he found that he was flanked by the silver metal dragon monsters, and behind them were the forms of his gang of followers, rolling and moaning on the ground as they cradled injuries.

Quickly the man looked away, his eyes finding the ground, too fearful to look at anything else.

"Now," said Cornelia calmly. "Where is Serenity?"

"She's that way!" the cowering man cried, pointing a shaking hand down one of the halls. "On the north side, in the Throne Room! No one ever goes that way!"

"See, that wasn't hard," said Cornelia. She knelt down so that the man, cowering on all fours, could not look away from her face. Cornelia looked him in the eyes. Roughly she grabbed his other arm, the one he hadn't used to point them towards Serenity. "And you get to keep at least one of your arms."

* * *

The screaming and cursing was distant now, nothing more than a faint echo that was steadily drown out by the metal clack of claw on stone that reverberated off the dark walls. The halls of Rakadin were empty. Or at least they seemed empty.

In the shadows that lingered along the passageway Cornelia could sense many sets of eyes watching her. She continued deeper into the dark kingdom, flanked by the metal dragons with burning blue eyes. Every now and then they would growl and a shadow would move slightly as if to run.

There were so many people here—so many prisoners of Kandrakar. When the Heart and Soul had been divided again they had been transported away. And among them was Serenity. Phobos had spilled what he knew about Rakadin when Cornelia had pulled him through the rift in Heatherfield.

Monsters, demons and cruel people of all types had ended up in Rakadin. The first week had been a massive war as each force of evil, which had ever been imprisoned in Kandrakar, battled for dominance over Rakadin. Many were killed outright. Those who were too weak, like Phobos, rallied around the stronger monsters. But when the dust had settled only three great powers were left standing and each claimed a different wing of Rakadin as their own.

The only person who had not taken part in the war, much to Cornelia's interest, was Serenity. Phobos admitted that he did not know much about her, just that she had claimed a section of Rakadin as her own, and that even the great three monsters who ruled over Rakadin, did not venture into her domain. Cornelia had just learned why.

This section of Rakadin lay in ruin, as if a terrible storm had ripped it apart. Walls had caved in. Huge wholes lay open in the floor, exposing the drop to the levels below. And in every direction were bodies, or parts of bodies…

Dried blood splattered the walls, the floor, even the ceiling high above. None had dared venture into this section to claim the fallen. Not that Cornelia really expected any of them to. This place was full of cowards.

The carnage around her was a very clear warning—to any who came this way—that they would find only death. Cornelia did not pause, she did not even slow down. She could feel magical power ahead of her, although, it wasn't exactly what she expected.

At last Cornelia came to a stop at two large, smooth, black, doors with great silver handles. The dragon beasts she had made from Alex and Owin growled softly at the doors. Absently, Cornelia ran a hand across the polished wood, a distant warning drifting through the thoughts that she ignored. Placing her palm against the wood she pushed it open with little effort. It was not locked and the large door swung away easily.

The room beyond was large and circular. Instead of windows, the very walls were open to the outside, where heavy relentless, rain fell. It reminded Cornelia very much of the counsel chambers back in Kandrakar except that it didn't rain in Kandrakar.

And also unlike Kandrakar, Rakadin had a throne. At the very center of the room, on a raised platform was a single black wooden throne. And atop it was… no one. The room was empty.

Cautiously, Cornelia stepped inside the room. The metal dragons followed at Cornelia's heals, their glowing blue eyes swept back and forth, watching the shadows and keeping them still.

Not speaking Cornelia moved towards the throne, her thoughts blank and empty. Like she had with the door Cornelia ran a hand along the polished wood of the black throne, hoping the contact would give her insight on what to do next. It was cold to the touch and it was empty like her thoughts. She was not sure what to do now.

As Cornelia lingered at the throne a whimper reached her ears. Moving slowly, Cornelia leaned sideways slightly to look around the throne. Sitting behind it, in badly frayed clothing, with her legs hugged to her chest and her face hidden in her knees was Serenity, sobbing quietly.

"What are you doing back there?" asked Cornelia, her tone expressionless. Serenity froze mid sob, her pained eyes flicking to Cornelia. Her black pupils were filled with horror.

"Please," whimpered Serenity, on the verge of tears again, "please don't kill me." She looked a mess, her eyes were puffy pink and her normally well groomed silver hair was in tangles.

Cornelia raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't come here for revenge," said Cornelia. "If that's what you think." Serenity looked confused and then her eyes found the gem around Cornelia's neck. Serenity's eyes filled with fright as the Soul's blue energy was reflected in them.

"So that's why I couldn't do anything to you in Kandrakar," said Serenity, her eyes locked on the gem. "The Soul had already picked a new owner, even while I still carried it…"

Cornelia glanced down at the gem around her neck, she had hardly thought about it. The gem was there and yet… it felt like there was nothing there. Cornelia shook the feeling away, her thoughts refocusing.

"I guess," said Cornelia. "Look, I don't like what you did, but I came to ask for your help." Cornelia offered out a hand to Serenity but she did not move to take it. "Will is unfit to be the leader of the Guardians," continued Cornelia. "I have to make her see that."

"And what do you need me for," asked Serenity her hold on her legs tightening protectively as if her hands might betray her if she let go. "Why would she listen to me?"

"You have a way of making people do what you want them too," said Cornelia, a smile crossing her face. It was meant to be a warm, reassuring smile, but to Serenity, it felt cold and frightening.

"The Soul gave me that power," said Serenity shaking her head. "As I'm sure you've discovered."

"Yes," said Cornelia, at last dropping her hand. "I have." A low growl announced the arrival of Owin and Alex. Their changed forms moved around the throne from both sides, encircling Serenity.

The silver haired girl's eyes widened as she saw what Cornelia had done.

"I like them better this way," commented Cornelia absently as if she really didn't care one way or the other. "Quiet and obedient." Serenity shook her head in silent protest.

"I don't need you to come with me of your own free will." Cornelia added quietly when Serenity said nothing.

"I'll go," said Serenity at last. Slowly she got to her feet, both metal dragons watching her movements closely. "But how exactly are we going anywhere? We're in the Void. There is no portal or gateway or anything out of Rakadin."

Cornelia smiled and Serenity shivered.

"You just don't know where to look," said Cornelia, with a wink. She turned and walked towards the open air archways that looked out across the barren flats that surrounded Rakadin. The rain continued to fall just as heavy as ever.

Stopping right at the edge Cornelia looked down the dizzying drop at her feet before lifting the Soul of Rakadin towards the sky. Serenity was about to open her mouth, to tell Cornelia that wasn't going to work, but before she could, something impossible happened.

As the gem began to glow, the rain stopped. The clouds swirled in the sky, becoming a vortex. And from the vortex a funnel bent out of the sky, stretching towards Rakadin, towards Cornelia, towards the Soul.

The opening in the spiral of air whirled before them. Sparks of magic danced in its mouth and a portal shimmered into existence. Cornelia turned back to look at Serenity, a cold smile crossing her lips as the silver haired girl's face turn pale. Slowly Cornelia walked back towards Serenity.

"See, nothing to it," said Cornelia as she stopped in front of Serenity. Her eyes swept down Serenity's body, examining her tattered clothing. "But you can't go visiting old friends like that." Continued Cornelia in mock disdain at the rags Serenity wore. "How about something, in silver?"

* * *

Not-Hay-Lin, that was how she thought of herself. That was what she heard when people talked to her. That was what she dreamt at night, sleeping on the floor, next to herself, who wasn't her.

She had been for less then a month now. Pulled from the body of the girl who she was a copy of. Forced to play her role in the act of life.

Not-Hay-Lin went to school. She did homework. She helped in the restaurant. And she took out the trash. But she did not have any friends.

Not-Hay-Lin liked school, although not so much the homework part. She liked helping in the restaurant, although not so much the taking out the garbage part. And she wished she had friends but she was sure there would be something about having friends she wouldn't like, so not having any was ok.

But, above all else, more than school or the restaurant, Not-Hay-Lin just liked being, something most people took for granted. After all, she had not been for so long that being was an intoxicating treat. An experience that nothing else could possibly match! And all except for the part where she had to pretend to go to '_her_' room—because after all it wasn't hers—at night and sleep on the floor next to the girl who wouldn't even talk to her, it was a pretty good existence.

It was the middle of a Saturday afternoon when Not-Hay-Lin was doing one of the things she did not enjoy as much—taking out the garbage, that smelled of dead fish—when she bumped, quiet literally, into some she did not expect to see. She hugged the black plastic trash bag that was cradled in her arms, tightly. She had dropped it once before and she intended never to let it happen again. It was not something she would have to worry about much longer.

"Sorry," said Not-Hay-Lin as she peered around the trash bag in her arms. Blocking her path was the bright, cheery face of Cornelia. She was smiling, although it made Not-Hay-Lin feel uncomfortable. "Oh, hi, Cornelia! Sorry I didn't…"

"You're not Hay Lin," said Cornelia, cutting the girl off, her smile vanishing. Not-Hay-Lin found it somewhat funny and sadly ironic that the only person who had ever gotten her name right was also the only one who would ever speak it.

The gem around Cornelia's neck flashed with white-blue light. When it receded, the astral drop was gone. The trash bag hung in the air for a moment, as if she had just become invisible, but then it dropped and burst open, spurting slimy fish guts across the floor, just missing Cornelia.

Without pause Cornelia stepped over the fallen rubbish bag and moved to the stairs that would take her to the apartment above the restaurant, where the real Hay Lin's room was.

It was a short walk down the hall to her door, which was closed. Slowly, as if afraid the door might bite her Cornelia placed her hands against it. She rested there a moment before her hand delicately moved to the knob, she did not try to open the door, she knew it would be locked.

Magic flowed down her hand and a flash of blue light emanated between the joints of the brass knob. Cornelia turned the knob and the door opened with a soft click. She was not fully prepared for what she found with in.

The window blinds had been pulled shut, but it was more than that. They had been taped shut. The dim light of the hallway forced its way into the room in a spear of light that didn't quiet make it to Hay Lin's bed.

The darkness around the hallway light was so absolute that Cornelia thought the void itself was pressing in on Hay Lin's room. Cornelia did not close the door behind her as she stepped hesitantly into the dark room. Even Rakadin had not made Cornelia feel this uncomfortable.

Cornelia's eyes found the young Asian girl sitting on her bed, her back to the door. She did not speak nor did she look at Cornelia. Cornelia felt a twinge of sorrow as her eyes wandered around the room.

The walls had been painted black. Not just the walls, but everything, including pictures—that Hay Lin had drawn herself—that hung on them. The job had been sloppy and rushed and Cornelia found herself imagining Hay Lin crying while she ran a paint roller filled with rage all over her room.

Some of the furniture had been splattered with paint. Hay Lin's dresser had streaks of paint across it. Although, Cornelia could see the original white wall behind it, untouched as the dresser had not been moved. And next to the dresser a mirror, partially covered in paint, with small gleaming silver spots still showing through here and there.

Cornelia took a deep breath, the room smelled of sweat and of something she thought might be sorrow. She moved towards Hay Lin, who still did not look at her.

Right now Cornelia wished she were facing someone else, anyone else. Phobos at the edge of Meridian, he had been nothing more than a casual thought. The Knights in Kandrakar, they had been easy. Even Serenity, a once great and terrible enemy, had bent to her will with a whimper and tears.

But Hay Lin… she wasn't like any of those people. She wasn't a former adversary to be manipulated or controlled. She was a friend... was…

"Hay Lin," was what Cornelia had meant to say, but it came out choked. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but Cornelia thought that Hay Lin became stiffer. However, she did not respond or turn around.

"Hay Lin," said Cornelia again, this time, words came out of her mouth. She took a step toward her friend.

"So…" said Hay Lin, her voice soft and empty. "Will told you…"

"Yes," replied Cornelia. Slowly putting Hay Lin's meaning together after she had already answered. Will had told her about Hay Lin's astral drop. There was silence for a moment, Cornelia waiting to see what Hay Lin would say next, so she could respond without offending her young friend.

"Why are you here Cornelia?" asked Hay Lin, giving nothing away, and still not turning to look at Cornelia. Again, Cornelia waited, trying to get Hay Lin to say more, to give her something to respond to. But when the moment lingered longer than was comfortable, Cornelia knew that Hay Lin was doing the same thing, waiting for the first move.

"Will has failed us," said Cornelia at last. Hay Lin's head turned slightly. "She doesn't know what's best for us any more and she doesn't care." Cornelia paused, this time to let her words sink in. "We were always meant to be Guardians, our powers don't come from Kandrakar or Will. She would have us give up everything we've worked for… everything we care about because of a grudge with an old man."

Hay Lin's face was half turned now, an eye finding Cornelia and her ear listening intently.

"I know how you feel," said Cornelia. But almost instantly Cornelia knew this had been the wrong thing to say. Hay Lin spun on her bed, her eyes filled with rage and tears.

"You have no idea how I feel!" screamed Hay Lin. A blast of wind exploded into existence. It raced around the small room, causing papers to swirl in the air. Had it been possible, Cornelia was sure there would have been thunder and lighting too. "You don't have any fucking idea how I feel! That bitch ripped my heart out and stepped on it right in front of me!" Cornelia took a step back, frightened for the first time in a long time.

Paintings ripped off the wall, leaving white squares of the original wall behind. The wind caught the door and slammed it closed behind Cornelia, cutting off any retreat and all of the light. The room was plunged back into darkness, broken only by small flashes of light as the window shades twisted in the wind.

"Will betrayed us all…" Cornelia shouted over the roar of the magical tornado. She held back her long blond hair that had scatter across her face. Then, as suddenly as it had come, the wind vanished. The objects it had been pushing around the room tumbled to the floor. With one final twist the window shades broke free of their hangings and crashed to the ground. A bright square of light poured in from outside, momentarily blinding Cornelia but leaving Hay Lin in Darkness.

Slowly, her eyes turning away first, Hay Lin resumed her sitting position facing the wall, her back to Cornelia once more.

"I'm not talking about Will," whispered Hay Lin, broken sadness in her voice. Cornelia roughly pushed her hair back and some place, deep down, was her voice telling her that her hair must look horrible right now.

"But you are," said Cornelia, ignoreing her own inner whining and putting together Hay Lin's meaning. Irma, Hay Lin was blaming Irma. "You're just blaming the wrong person." Hay Lin's head tilted down, as if she were contemplating Cornelia's words, like they were some kind of truth she was overlooking, and the blue gem around Cornelia's neck glowed.

"It's Will's fault," said Cornelia, walking slowly towards Hay Lin, the blue, eerie glow shading Hay Lin in hypnotic light. "She stole away your friendship. She betrayed your trust." Cornelia was standing right behind Hay Lin now. She bent forward to whisper in the girl's ear.

"She took from you the person you love more than anyone can understand," said Cornelia. "More than even she can understand." Hay Lin's breathing was uneven as she listened. "Help me Hay Lin. Help me stop Will Vandom."

* * *

**Author's notes:**

**Thank you everyone who left me such great reviews last chapter: **Darev**, **XV-Dragon**, **lost prince**, **DayDreamer9**, **Steamrollers Solve All **and** Bluemarsman**.**

**Sadly I've had some e-mail problems mixed with PM woes and I'm pretty sure I lost some messages last month. I apologize if you wrote me and I did not respond, feel free to send it to me again if you can.**

**This is a dark chapter, but what where you honestly expecting from something titled Darkness? The final chapter won't be filled with sunshine and rainbows either. As some of you might have guessed if you know the name of the last chapter… (it's posted in my forum btw)**

**This chapter has been floating around in my head for a long time. Not really sure exactly how long, but way back during UtW. I always liked the image of Hay Lin running a black paint roller over her walls, pictures and all. I know that sounds messed up. I can't say why, but it's just an image that has stuck with me. It kind of defines the mood of the story as a whole.**

**Now I'm going to share a little nerdisum with you, feel free to skip it. Cornelia's team now consists of (in order) Cornelia, Hay Lin, Alex, Owin and Serenity… that's C.H.A.O.S for any who are wondering. Yes, the whole reason I killed off Dante in the last story was so that I could spell Chaos here, no joke. Just when you think you know everything about the crazy world I have spun (or more likely, are completely lost) there is more too it!**

**Anyhow…**

**We are closing in on the end of this little side trip. So, uh, see you all next month then? Same bat-time, same bat-site?**

**Starwin out.**


	5. Death

"Paths Divided"

By: Starwin

* * *

Previously, on W.I.T.C.H…

Cornelia journeyed across the Void to the fortress of Rakadin in search of a heartless enemy, Serenity. But danger was waiting for her just inside the gates. Undeterred Cornelia used the power of the Soul to transform the Dragons Knights, Alex and Owin into real dragons!

Serenity bent to Cornelia's will without a fight, but Cornelia wasn't finished yet. Returning to Earth, Cornelia has opened Hay Lin's eyes and turned the young air mistress to her side for a battle against their former leader, Will Vandom.

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Death**

* * *

High above Heatherfield, the gray sky turned in slow turmoil. The brilliant rays of the waning sun raced across the shapeless clouds turning gray into purple and gold and red. For the moment, the wind had settled to a gentle calm and the city had quieted down, preparing itself for sleep.

Even the waves that lapped against the sand of Shell Beach were oddly silent—sneaking in and sliding out in a smooth, unbroken motion. The water smoothed everything. It turned rocks of long ago into pebbles and pebbles of distant memory into sand. Now it worked to wash the sand away, to leave no trace there had ever even been rocks. Because that is the nature of the ocean.

A small mound of a once great sandcastle lingered at the edge of the waves, slowly being smoothed back into flat, formless, sand. Footprints left in the soft white beach were swept under by the tumbling water as it advanced upon them, before receding and leaving untarnished mud.

Everyday, when the people left, the beach would be reborn, washing away all traces of the old day. But, as much as the ocean tried there was something it could not wash away. The water came again, beating at the two dark scars that remained, unable to be removed.

What the ocean did not realize, could not realize, was that these two things, which moved along its shore, were shadows and that it could not wash them away. The long shadows strode across the shoreline, unaffected by the water. Waves rolled in and out, in and out, over and over. Water cascaded across the moving shadows, but the dark blemishes cast across its otherwise pristine sand remained.

Suddenly, the shadows receded, moving out of the reach of the waves. The water stretched out as if to chase, but fell short and washed back into the ocean.

Well out of reach of the water, standing at the mouth of a dark, uninviting cave, were the two people who had cast the shadows and left their footprints along the sand. A girl with long blond hair moved forward, entering the mouth of the cave. As she did a blue light flared into existence, illuminating the dim passage.

"This is Shell Cave," said the smaller of two girls. Two long ponytails of black hair flowed down her back. She was dressed in a black skirt and a tangled web of purple and black fabrics wrapped around her chest. Her feet were bare and her face was pale and tired. Absently, she ran her hand along the smooth rock of the entrance. "Why did we come to Shell Cave? I thought you said we were going to confront Will."

The blond haired girl stopped before looking back at her friend, who remained reluctantly at the entrance. "We can't stop Will alone," replied the blond girl, there was a glowing blue gem that hung around her neck and her cold blue eyes were reflectionless. "She'll have help, Hay Lin. But so will we."

Hay Lin nodded but still did not move from the entrance of Shell Cave. There were painful memories inside that place. Things she didn't want stirred in her troubled mind.

"Can't they just come out?" Hay Lin asked, her eyes looking anywhere but the cave.

"It would be better if they didn't," said the blond girl. Hay Lin pulled her hand away from the stone and took a step back.

"Cornelia…" said Hay Lin shaking her head. "I can't… I can't go in there." Quickly, before Hay Lin could run off, Cornelia closed distance with her and wrapped her arms around her smaller friend. "I don't want too," said Hay Lin, her voice almost a sob.

"It will be alright," said Cornelia, the gem around her neck glowing stronger. "It will be fine." Gently, Cornelia took her friend's hand and led her towards the cave again. There was only a slight resistance from Hay Lin as they stepped into the cave, but beyond that she did not try to pull away.

The outside light quickly dwindled away. The cave was thrown into sharp relief by the light of the blue gem around Cornelia's neck. Cornelia continued to hold Hay Lin's hand tightly as she led them both deeper into the cave.

They walked in silence. Hay Lin said nothing, her mind was swirling with memories of the last time she had been here, with her friend Irma. That had been the last time they had seen each other, the last time they had spoken. And they had both said such terrible things to one another. And Hay Lin wished she could take it back. And she wished that Irma wanted to take it back.

Only a foot away Cornelia's thoughts settled on the same thought over and over, or rather the lack of the same thought over and over. There was nothing going through her mind. No thoughts of anything. It was like she was trying to remember what she should be thinking about, but forgetting to do it.

Suddenly, Cornelia came to an abrupt stop, Hay Lin crashing into her back with a yelp. Cornelia's thoughts had just filled with so many things that it was impossible to think they had been empty an instant ago.

Cornelia tightened her grip on Hay Lin's hand before saying, "What I'm about to show you might be shocking. But it's what I had to do." Hay Lin squeezed Cornelia's hand almost painfully.

Taking one more step forward the glow of the gem illuminated a person concealed in the darkness of the cave. Hay Lin gasped, feeling scared by the sight before her. Reflexively, Hay Lin moved closer to Cornelia, as if she were some kind of shield.

Standing against the back wall was the focus of Hay Lin's distress. Dressed all in black was a young girl. She lingered just at the edge of the crystal light. Her silver hair cascaded down her shoulder and her face was concealed by a smooth, featureless, silver mask.

The mask had no eye holes. It had no nose or mouth. But its silver reflected both Cornelia and Hay Lin. The girl's head turned sharply towards the two people watching her, but she did not say anything. Hay Lin had the distinct feeling that the girl could see her, that she was looking right at her.

"Cornelia," Hay Lin asked. "Who… who is that?" But Hay Lin already knew the answer, even before she asked it. Hay Lin had known the answer the moment she had seen the silver masked girl. But when Cornelia responded, Hay Lin's brain could hardly process it.

"That… is Serenity," said Cornelia softly, not looking away from the masked girl.

"I have to go," said Hay Lin her voice shaking. "This doesn't feel right at all! I shouldn't have come with you! I don't want to be here." She let go of Cornelia and backed away.

However, she did not get far before she bumped into something. Something large and covered in cold metal. Something that growled at her. With a squeak of terror Hay Lin jumped back towards Cornelia, latching onto her.

A pair of blue fire-lit eyes watched Hay Lin. Attached to the eyes was the monstrous body of a silver dragon. It was as large as lion and it prowled along the cave wall, blocking the exit.

Movement caught Hay Lin's attention. Turning her head slowly she found a second dragon, just as big as the first, watching them lazily from its perch on a large stone. Hay Lin's fingers dug painfully into Cornelia's shoulder and arm but Cornelia did not seem to notice.

"Cornelia… we're surrounded," whispered Hay Lin, her voice panicked. She could see no way out. Even if she got past the dragons, there was a long dark tunnel she had to run through. And if she made it to the beach, where would she hide then?

"Relax," said Cornelia brightly, a half smile crossing her face. "They're old… I guess friends isn't the right word… Hay Lin, meet, Alex," she held her hand out to the dragon monster guarding the passage out. "And Owin," she turned slightly indicating the other dragon that sat on the rock, watching them. "Or maybe, he's Alex… You know what, I can't really tell."

Hay Lin was too shocked to speak.

"I made them real Dragon Knights," said Cornelia. "Much better than what Serenity did. Although, I guess she did make it so they could change back. I kind of stuck them like this for good."

"You did this?" exclaimed Hay Lin. "You brought them here? You turned them into monsters?"

"Of course," replied Cornelia with a shrug. "I needed protectors in Rakadin."

"Rakadin?" cried Hay Lin. "You went to Rakadin! You brought back Serenity!" Cornelia held up a hand, stopping Hay Lin from continuing. Or at least, that's what Hay Lin thought. Cornelia closed her eyes, wincing in pain.

"Yes," said Cornelia, her voice sounded different somehow, more troubled. "I had to."

"Why?" cried Hay Lin, her own voice increasing in pitch. "What could possibly have compelled you to bring someone like her back here?" Cornelia's pained eyes met with Hay Lin's. It was the first time they had looked directly at each other and the look in Cornelia's eyes scared Hay Lin more than anything else she had seen or heard so far.

"Darkness is coming Hay Lin," said Cornelia quietly. "A never ending night that will spread across all worlds… across all stars." Hay Lin shook her head in disbelief.

"What are you talking about?" asked Hay Lin, her voice hardly a whisper.

"I've seen it," said Cornelia her voice still pained and her eyes still troubled. "I've seen our future in my nightmares. A sky without stars, just a great eternal emptiness…

"And it's Will, Hay Lin," said Cornelia more forcefully. "It's Will who is the cause of all the suffering that is to come. It's because of her failure to act. Because of her shortsightedness. Because she abandon us!" Cornelia shouted these last words and they echoed off the walls of the cave for a long time before fading.

"Cornelia, this is crazy…" said Hay Lin. Cornelia winced in pain again and when her eyes opened she seemed to be confused for a moment before regaining her composure. "How can you even be sure your 'nightmares' mean anything? I mean, you've never had visions of the future before, have you?"

"I can't explain it," said Cornelia. "But I know they aren't just dreams. I know what I've seen is real. We have to stop Will. We have to take away the Heart from her before she unmakes everything!"

Hay Lin took a deep breath trying to fit together all of Cornelia's ramblings. Her eyes flicked up to find Cornelia staring at her intently, excepting an answer… but demanding Hay Lin's approval and acceptance.

"No," said Hay Lin shaking her head. Cornelia's expression darkened but her eyes remained emotionless and hollow.

"Hay Lin, we have to…" Cornelia tried.

"I don't care! I'm done with this. With everything!" shouted Hay Lin. "I don't want to be a guardian anymore. I don't want hurt anyone else. I just want it to be over! I just want to go back to my life before any of this ever happened!"

"I'm sorry," said Cornelia. "I really am. But I've come too far to go back. This is too important to give up now."

"I won't help you hurt Will," said Hay Lin defiantly.

"That's not good enough," said Cornelia darkly and she touched the gem around her neck. Energy raged around the blue crystal. Hay Lin's eyes filled with fright. The energy of the gem lashed out with terrible force, but somehow Hay Lin managed to dodge it.

The power crashed into the wall, discharging into the stone and then the light went out completely. Another flicker of energy, blasting at the spot where Hay Lin had stood, but she had moved. In the moment of lingering light Hay Lin ran.

Past the beast that growled at her and down the dark tunnel, a distant point of light so far away that it looked like a star. The air crackled with energy again, this time the blast came so close that Hay Lin felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

A blue glow lingered longer this time and Hay Lin ran even faster, willing the wind to carry her to safety. She could make it, she was almost there. But terrible thought echoed in the back of her mind, it was the thought she'd had earlier, where would she hide once she was out side?

And then Hay Lin exploded out of the mouth of the cave into the last rays of the sun light, her feet crashed into the soft sand and carried her towards the water. She had made it, she had gotten out! That was her last thought before the burning energy struck her in her back.

Hay Lin cried out in pain as tendrils of energy crawled across her skin. The clothing she had fashioned herself began to burn. The veins of energy changed from blue to silver. Threads tangled themselves around her arms and body.

Her body elongated, become serpent like. A long tail continued on from her no longer human form. Her fingers and toes became claws. And four great metal wings rose out from her back.

When the transformation stopped her face was completely gone, replaced by that of a terrible beast, a dragon beast. Cornelia lowered the gem, her reflectionless eyes examining her newest Dragon Knight.

* * *

Will Vandom was asleep on the couch. She had been asleep for hours, sprawled out across the cushions and Irma Lair. The TV buzzed with the low hum of electricity—Irma had muted it so that her friend could sleep—and the air was quiet as the background noise of the city had faded as the day grew later.

Irma's finger slid over the power button of the remote for the TV and she considered turning it off. She hadn't really been able to pay attention to it with her redheaded friend's head in her lap.

The last month between them had been, interesting, to say the least. Will had attached herself to Irma, like there was some kind of invisible string tying them together. Irma always felt uncomfortable when they were apart for too long and Will had admitted the same thing.

But it was a feeling, not an emotion. Irma couldn't properly explain it, although Will had come up with a good analogy once. She had said being away from Irma too long was like when you were under water holding your breath, if you didn't come up for air at some point, you would drown. And that was exactly how Irma felt when she saw Will, like she had been holding her breath up until that moment.

Absently Irma moved her arm from uncomfortable couch to the sleeping girl lying on her. Will moved slightly at Irma's touch but she did not wake. Irma knew Will hadn't been sleeping well. She had been using a fair amount of makeup to hide the dark circles under her eyes, but her sleeplessness was becoming more noticeable. More than once she had fallen asleep in class.

And Irma knew why Will wasn't sleeping. Will had told her, couldn't stop telling her. In fact, she had cried herself to sleep in Irma's arms hours ago while recounting the torments of the night before.

When she closed her eyes, Will was not visited by normal dreams or even nightmares. Instead, memories of past lives, erased by the Oracle and concealed by her mother, resurfaced in her mind. People she had never known, friends who were long dead and experiences that had happened over and over to someone she wasn't, tormented her night after night.

Every life that had ever been Will—all of them, every, single, one—was recounted to Irma Lair. And Irma sat quietly and listened and comforted her troubled friend.

Irma could feel Will's shallow, steady, breathing as the girl who lay across her continued to sleep peacefully. She hoped that Will was lost in blissful, dreamless sleep.

Closing her eyes, Irma leaned her head against the cushions. She was so tired, both physically and emotionally. The battle with Phobos had taken so much out of her. And comforting Will had taken all she'd had left. It was no small task watching a friend go to pieces.

Half opening her eyes, Irma looked down at her friend who peacefully asleep on her lap. Irma would endure. She would endure for Will, because there was no one else. No one left who Will trusted. Not her friends, not her mother, not anyone; just Irma.

The brown haired girl had to admit she wasn't entirely sure why she and Will had suddenly bonded so closely to each other. Yet, at the same time Irma couldn't see Will going to anyone else. Irma was like a steady rock in a terrible storm.

Irma laughed slightly as she pondered over her last thought, if anyone should have been a rock for Will is should have been Cornelia. And yet, Cornelia had become completely opposite of Irma, she had become so distant from Will. Both Cornelia and Will had classes together but Irma got the distinct feeling that they didn't even look at each other.

With a heavy sigh Irma's musing turned to her own troubles. Spending all her time with Will was killing her ability to study, not that she ever really did that before anyhow. But her homework, which she tried to keep up with, when she could remember, was seriously falling behind. And her family was starting to wonder why she was spending so much time with her friend.

And Hay Lin… Irma's thoughts crashed to a stop. She didn't want to think about Hay Lin right now. She didn't want to think about the last time they had spoken to… yelled at… each other.

Irma's eyes wandered lazily to the TV, looking for a distraction form her thoughts. The woman on the screen was talking about something… something terribly important… something about buying shoes… or something. Slowly, Irma's eyes closed again and this time they stayed shut for a long time as she drifted into exhausted sleep.

* * *

It wasn't like waking up, because that felt different. This felt like… like being in a dream. Like, suddenly being there but couldn't remember having gotten there. At least, that's what Irma thought.

The odd thing was that Irma was sure she'd felt this way before, but… she could quiet remember. It wasn't a distant dream it was more like a forgotten memory.

But this had to be a dream! It couldn't be anything else because standing, there in front of her, was herself. Her other-self was talking, saying words, but Irma was having a hard time understating them.

Suddenly, everything snapped into place, as if Irma had hit the focus button. "You have to go back—our friends can't do this without you." Said her other-self. "You have to stop Cornelia. You can't let her kill…" but the next words, weren't words at all. They were more like a sound, like a shrill ringing.

"What?" Irma asked her other-self. "I have to stop Cornelia from killing who?"

"From killing…" again that sound, drowning out the words.

"What the hell is that noise!" shouted Irma, her voice irritated. But as she looked away the world blurred and faded and the noise cried out again in its shrill voice.

* * *

"Uh, hello?" asked Will, sleep still heavy on her voice. Irma was groggy too and she hardly registered that Will was talking into a phone. "Cornelia?" Will sat up strait, suddenly awake. "Did you see the Oracle?" Irma could hear faint whispers from the ear peace as the person on the phone, who Irma decided must obviously be Cornelia, answered Will's questions.

Will frowned as she listened. The last vestiges of sleep were dwindling away from Irma now as she listened intently, trying to make out Cornelia's words.

Awkwardly Will pinched the cordless phone between shoulder and ear before looking at her watch.

"Now?" Will replied. Irma's eyes shifted to the window, it was getting dark outside, how long had she been asleep. "Alright we can meet at…" Will paused as Cornelia's words interrupted her. "Uh, sure, I guess... I'll let the others know and we'll meet you in Heatherfield Park in twenty minutes."

Will ended the call, looking at the phone with thoughtful eyes. And then with a sigh she fell backward into Irma's lap. One of her arm across her eyes and the phone pressed against her chest.

"So?" asked Irma when Will said nothing.

"Cornelia is back from Kandrakar," said Will, not lifting her arm to look at Irma. "She wants us to meet her in Heatherfield Park."

"I kind'a figured that," replied Irma with a smile. "Why Heatherfield park?" Will shrugged. "Well, call up Taranee and let her know." Will passed the phone to Irma. Will had been doing that a lot lately too, being lazy about things. She hadn't been to swim practice all month and Irma knew that Will had stopped doing her homework too.

But this wasn't the time to complain about such things, Irma took the phone and dialed Taranee's house. One ring, no answer. Two rings, no answer. On the sixth ring the answering machine picked up, telling Irma that no one was there to take her call and leave a message and… Irma hit the end call button.

"She's not there," said Irma. "I guess we'll just have to go without her." Will shrugged again as if she couldn't care less. If Irma hadn't been so tired she would have tried to keep herself from frowning.

* * *

The world was on fire. Flames of every color burned across the ground, consuming trees and people whole. And yet, no one seemed to notice. No one except Taranee, who could actually see the flames.

Earlier that day Will had returned them from Kandrakar, back to Heatherfield park. Back to the same place they had departed from that morning. Will and Irma had walked off but Taranee hadn't gone anywhere. Instead, she had sat down on a bench, the same one she had occupied with Cornelia when they had started out today day.

And Taranee was still sitting there. Not moving, not sleeping, just, watching. Watching the emerald colored fire burn along the ground in shallow waves. Watching the pink columns of flame stroll around the park. Watching the world around her burn with an unseen fire.

It was a very strange experience, this fire-sight. It was nothing like telepathy, where she could hear other voices and see peoples thoughts in her mind. Fire-sight was like seeing the world with its mask pulled off, like seeing what everything really was.

Even things that weren't alive, like the metal trash bin a few meters away from her, she'd had to look to see what it really was, burned with flame.

She had looked at herself and found she wasn't like all the people who walked around the park. While they weren't exactly the same color they were all some shade of pink. But Taranee, she was covered in red flame, from finger to toe. She assumed her head too, but she couldn't properly see her own head.

Taranee was still learning about her new power. There were many things about it she rightly didn't understand. But there were things she had figured out for herself, like her clothing. Her clothing, she noticed, had different colors of its own, but it was so dull against her own fire that it was more like a ghostly shadow cast over her. And everything, absolutely everything, was one solid color of fire.

While each thing she looked at might be a slightly different color from the one next to it, each was thing was only that color. People were pink and only pink. Grass, like in real life, was green and only green. Which is why she found it odd that she was the only person, the only thing, that burned with red fire.

Although, that wasn't entirely true. Taranee had found one other object. One other thing that burned with bright red fire. The Sun. she could see it, even through the clouds above. A great red furnace in the sky, with long arms of flame stretching in all directions.

Suddenly, Taranee spotted something new, something, different! A different color of fire she had only seen once before, back when she had first used her fire-sight, white fire. It was distant but it burned brightly, brighter than anything around it.

Unable to stop herself, Taranee opened her eyes, instantly wishing she hadn't. The real world was far more dull and unfocused. To Taranee, everything could have just been gray for all the color she could see with her eyes opened.

It slowly dawned on Taranee, that the reason the world looked so dim was because the sun was setting. She had been sitting there for hours and night was starting to creep in. The lights, around he park had come on, although there was still a reasonable amount of daylight left.

Taranee's eyes searched the blurry distant landscape for the source of the white fire. But, as far as she could tell, there was nothing there but a hill and grass. Taranee closed her eyes again.

For a moment there was darkness. She concentrated, focused, stretched out with her mind. Then, it was like she had dropped a match and the whole world was covered in gasoline. Flames raced across the world in brilliant colors. Pushing away the darkness and drawing fire forms across it.

And the brilliant white light was still there, moving closer, except, now Taranee was sure that it had changed. It was no longer one flame, but two. Taranee finally realized what she was seeing.

The flame was two people, walking side by side, they had just been so distant and so bright that they had merged together. And the reason she hadn't been able to see them with her eyes was because they were behind the hill! She could see through the very earth itself… if what she was looking at was bright enough.

The two flames had become more distinct now. One was not white at all, it was blue, the color of the ocean. But the other, was indeed white and incredibly bright.

Not wanting to open her eyes again, Taranee stretched out with her mind. She only needed to touch the surface thoughts to realize who these two people were. And she was oddly not surprised at all.

It was only a few moments before both walking flames stood before her. She hadn't been this close to anyone, except Elyon, and it was the first time she really had a good look at other people.

They were more or less human shaped. Fire rolled across both of the people standing in front of her, but the fire moved differently for each.

"Hey Will," said Taranee, her eyes closed but looking at the white fire she knew was her friend. "Irma." She said inclining her head towards he blue fire.

"You… can see us?" asked Irma a impressed smile in her voice.

"Yes, with my fire-sight," said Taranee. "I've been practicing all day. It's incredible. I can see so much more than…" Taranee trailed off, there was something she had noticed. Something odd that flickered between Will and Irma.

"So much more than… what?" asked Will.

"Uh, than I ever thought," finished Taranee uneasily. A terrible feeling had just washed over Taranee. She had seen something silver glimmer in the light between Will and Irma. And that silver thread of fire had stirred something inside her she didn't want to remember.

"How did you know I would be here?" asked Taranee trying to change the direction of the conversation.

"We didn't," said Will. "Cornelia said to meet up at the park and Irma tried to call you at home, but you weren't there. So we just walked over together and Irma spotted you and, well, here we are."

There was a lingering pause as Will's rapid words hung in the air. The fire around her had started to move differently. Taranee couldn't explain how she knew, but it was like reading an expression on someone face. And Taranee finally asked the question she had been putting off.

"So," said Taranee after a moment. "How long has this been going on between you two?" There was an uncomfortable silence that lingered in the air for a moment before a strong wind blew it away.

"How long has 'what' been going on between us?" Irma asked in her best nonchalant voice.

"Irma, I'm mostly blind," replied Taranee, turning her head in Irma's direction. It was a strange thing to have someone with their eyes closed, staring you down. "Not stupid. There hasn't been a time you haven't both arrived together."

"It's… We… Uh…" stammered Irma. She was trying to play it off as if it was nothing, but the fire around her had changed slightly. Taranee wasn't sure why but he new pattern of fire made her feel like she knew Irma had just become very uncomfortable.

"Damn it Will," said Taranee. "I thought you had more sense! You just pushed us all away… It's like you don't even care about the team anymore." Will looked down at her shoes, but didn't answer. "Why Will? Why did you push everyone else away?"

"I don't know!" shouted Will, suddenly. She wasn't angry but her fire, it was swirling angrily around her. "I don't know," she repeated more quietly. "When… we left Kandrakar last time I… I told you. I'm not who I used to be, I can't be.

"This isn't some TV show. Things don't just go back to how they used to be at the end of the week," continued Will. She rubbed her arm uncomfortably. "I'm different than I was. And Irma seems to get that.

"But you, and Hay Lin, and Cornelia," Will looked uncomfortably towards Taranee. "You all keep looking at me, expecting me to be someone I'm not anymore. Maybe Serenity made me different. Maybe what I learned changed me. I don't know.

"All I know is, I wake up in the morning I don't feel the same as I used too. When I look in the mirror it isn't my face looking back at me…" Will shook her head sadly.

"It's because you aren't who you used to be." A cold voice cut through the air making all the girls jump. Taranee's fire-sight turned to the girl who had spoken and she almost opened her eyes in shock. The surface thoughts she was senseing from the person, seemed to be Cornelia's but… her fire… it was like nothing Taranee had ever seen.

She wasn't just one color of flame. She was many. Three distinct colors raced around her body, green, the weakest of the three flittered between tangles of silver and black. The same black fire she had pulled out of Elyon. The same black fire that had been embedded in Caleb.

"Cornelia…" whispered Taranee, her mouth dry. She wasn't even sure it was Cornelia she was talking to.

"You used to be our leader, Will," continued Cornelia, her voice still harsh and her eyes narrowed. "Now look at you. You've given up. All you do now is sulk on someone else's shoulder."

"Hey!" exclaimed Irma defensively. Cornelia ignored her and instead continued to walk towards Will, there eyes locked in silent conflict. Abruptly, Cornelia came to a halt as if she had reached the edge of cliff and could come no closer.

"Will…" gasped Taranee, as she continued to watch Cornelia with her fire-sight. The next words were not spoken and only Irma and Will could hear them. "_It's her, Will, she's behind this! Not Serenity! I can see it in her thoughts! The black fire, it's all around her!_"

* * *

Will's eyes searched Cornelia's face desperately before saying, "You didn't come here to talk to us, did you?" Cornelia smiled darkly. Taranee and Irma moved closer to Will.

"You're wrong Will, I did come here to talk," said Cornelia her voice a soft whisper, she did not move closer. "I came her to ask you to step down as leader. I know you don't want to be part of this any longer."

"But that's not all you're here for, is it?" replied Will her hand reflexively touching the gem around her neck.

"Give it to me Will," said Cornelia, holding out her hand. "I will take your burden away. I can give you a normal life again. Free from Kandrakar and the Oracle."

Will's hand held the Heart protectively. Her eyes were fixed on Cornelia, her mind in a rolling turmoil. "No," said Will at last.

"I wish you wouldn't have said that, Will," replied Cornelia sadly. "I didn't want it to come to this, but… I'm going to have to take it from you." No one replied. They all knew that the Heart of Kandrakar could not be taken, only given.

"What happened to you Cornelia," Irma asked. "What made you hate us so much?" And for one brief instant Cornelia's expression softened and her mouth half opened as if to cry for help. But she closed her lips and her expression darkened.

"This is your last chance," said Cornelia softly. When she finished speaking a cold wind blew adding a chilling bite to her words.

"No," repeated Will defiantly.

"Then this is your doing," said Cornelia. The air around them began to shake and shutter. The effect lasted only a moment but when it stopped the Will, Taranee and Irma were surrounded. At either side of them were two metal dragons, large and lion like. Behind them was a long silver serpent that could easily have coiled around the three of them several times. And in front of them stood Cornelia, dark and more menacing then all three of the beast combine.

"How many need to die," asked Cornelia. They were words Will had heard before, words that Serenity had spoken, except, now that Cornelia spoke them they sounded exactly the same. Like it was the same person speaking. "Before you will give me the Heart?"

"Guardians…" Will shouted, rage overpowering shock. "Unite!" Energy flowed from the Heart, transforming the three into defenders of the elements. Cornelia stood and watched emotionlessly and the dragons did not advance upon them.

The energy of the transformation receded. "We are going to stop you!" shouted Will. "We are going to…"

"Fail," said Cornelia cutting Will off, Will looked surprised by these words. Cornelia pointed at the girls and the three silver dragons moved with blinding speed towards them.

Each girl leapt in a different direction, a silver metal dragon chasing each of them. Will took to the air and the long silver dragon followed her, its jaws open.

* * *

Cornelia watched the battle before her passively. As if she could care less about it. Her blue reflectionless eyes sat open and blank.

She watched as Taranee hurled fireball after fireball at the dragon chasing her. The flames bounced off its metal skin, not even leaving scorch marks behind.

She watched Irma create barriers of ice and try to cage the metal monster that chased her, but it hardly seemed to slow the beast down.

And she watched Will, high in the air, dancing around the metal snake turned and twisted after her.

Cornelia knew she should do something. That she should help her friends. But the feeling was quickly overpowered and instead she stood there watching.

* * *

"_We can't keep this up!_" thought Will desperately as she glanced down at Taranee and Irma who weren't fairing much better than her. At least they were using their elements to try and fend of the dragons chasing them. Will couldn't stay still long enough to try and gather her powers for an attack!

Will banked hard to the left and pulled up hard, doing a backwards loop. The dragon stayed on her, not losing an inch. It was like this beast was a master of the sky or something, Will just couldn't shake it.

It the dragon might be very agile but maybe Will was faster. She was smaller after all. Summoning all of her strength Will pushed herself to fly faster and higher into the sky. She quickly gained distance from the dragon.

Enough distance to summon an attack! Energy flared around Will's hands, electric pealing off her body into the air. The metal monster was speeding towards Will. There wouldn't be much time, but Will was sure she could get at least one shot off, she just had to make it count!

"_Will, it's Hay Lin! The Dragon is Hay Lin!_" came Taranee's voice in Will mind. The attack at Will's fingers stalled as her brain processed Taranee's words. "_They aren't monsters, they're people! They're Dragon Knights!_" Will's eyes found the long silver serpent closing the distance she had gained. Its eyes glowed with terrifying blue light and its jaws slightly open, revealing razor sharp teeth.

And then Will saw her. She saw Hay Lin racing towards her. Saw the terrible claws that were stretching out to cut her. At the last possible moment Will regained herself and spun out of the way as the silver dragon raced past her.

She had seen Hay Lin, for an instant. Cornelia had turned her friend against her!

"Cornelia! Stop this!" Will shouted, her rage and anger focusing on the blond girl who watched her passively.

"Will look out!" cried Irma. Will glanced up just in time to see the whip end of the silver dragon's tail spinning out of the sky at her. The powerful attack slammed into Will knocking her out of the sky. Dazed and half conscious the Guardian leader tumbled through the air, out of control, before crashing to the ground fifty feet below.

Cornelia held up a hand and the dragons that Irma and Taranee had been fighting backed away. Taranee lingered a moment, her mind wondering if this was just a trick, that they would attack again the instant her back was turned. But Irma did not hesitate, she ran towards Will as fast as she could.

"Will!" screamed Irma as knelt down next to her injured friend, placing a hand on Will's back and hoping she was alright.

Taranee arrived only a second later. She did not take her attention away from their attackers, like Irma had.

Will groaned in pain as she slowly pushed herself up from the ground. Luckily, in Guardian form, she could endure things that might otherwise seriously injure or even kill her. And although Will was a little stunned from the attack she was already shaking it off.

Irma and Taranee stood defensively at the sides of their leader, protecting her while she recovered.

"You can't win this," said Cornelia. "No matter how hard you fight, you can't escape." The long silver dragon landed behind them, cutting off any path of retreat.

"Give me the Heart, Will," said Cornelia, holding out her hand. "Give it to me and this will all be over, you can go back to a normal life and forget about the Guardians." Will looked defiantly at Cornelia, but did not answer.

"_She's right, we can't win this,_" thought Will through the telepathic link. "_They are too strong for us. But she is totally wrong about us not being able to escape!_" Will's hand quickly moved to the pink gem around her neck and with hardly any effort, she opened a portal behind them.

"If you want to run and hide in Kandrakar…" said Cornelia, Will's eye widened a little, surprised that Cornelia had correctly guessed where the portal led. "… you will have to leave your friends behind."

Cornelia closed her two outstretched hands into fists. The expressions on both Irma and Taranee's faces suddenly became filled with panic and pain. Both girls coughed violently, as if they were chocking for air.

"Give me the Heart," repeated Cornelia. "Give it to me and you can all go free!"

"_Don't!_" came Irma's voice in Will's mind. Irma's eyes were desperately locked on Will, pleading with her. "_Run Will! Run away!_"

"No," said Will, glaring at Cornelia defiantly. "I won't leave my friends and run away. And I won't give you the Heart!" Gathering all the energy inside her, Will commanded all the power of her element to come to her aid. It was power like she had never felt before, raw rage and energy manifested around her in arcs of lightning.

With a scream of anger Will lashed out at Cornelia, all of her power flowing to her fingertips. But Cornelia made the earth leap up in a wall, to absorb the blast, or at least, that's what she had intended.

Instead of a wall of stone, long spikes of earth erupted out of the ground. The pointed tips found their mark in Will, impaling her leg and arm. And two spikes came to a rest in her chest, one just missing her real heart.

Will's face slackened into surprise. The energy at her finger tips exploded outwards, but the blast of lighting missed Cornelia and raced away across the sky.

The spears of earth withdrew in a blur and Will stood motionless for a moment, the red impact holes not yet bleeding. Then, Will collapsed to the ground and lay motionless. The sky screamed with a crack of thunder and it wept with tears of rain.

The invisible bonds that Cornelia had wrapped around Taranee and Irma faded and without hesitation they both rushed to Will's aid.

"_The portal_!" thought Taranee, her projected voice desperate but steady. "_We have to get her to Kandrakar, the Oracle can save her!_" There were tears in Irma's eyes, but Taranee could not see them.

The rain crashed down upon all of them, the silver dragons, Will and her friends, even Cornelia, who did not try to shield herself, or part the rain above her head with magic.

Irma stood, facing Cornelia, her fists balled.

"_Take her to the Oracle,_" thought Irma.

"_Irma…_" came Taranee's worried voice. But she did not argue beyond that. Lifting Will in her arms Taranee dashed for the portal to Kandrakar. One of the dragons moved slightly as if to intercepts. Irma commanded the rain to gather and freeze. The dragon was stopped instantly in place.

"I'm not interested in you," said Cornelia glaring at Irma. "You have nothing I need. You're free to leave. I won't come after you."

"Stuff it bitch! Like hell I'm leaving," shouted Irma angrily. "I'm going to make you suffer. I'm going to pay you back a hundred times for what you did to Will." Cornelia showed no emotion. She said nothing. Irma's anger grew.

"You don't even care!" screamed Irma. "Our friendship doesn't mean anything to you!"

"No," said Cornelia shaking her head. "It doesn't."

Irma let out a roar of rage. She lashed out at Cornelia, commanding the rain to freeze into millions of tiny bladed daggers. But before the ice shards could impact the long, snake like dragon leapt through the air, coiling itself around Cornelia and protecting her from the many projectiles.

Irma staggered backwards as the dragon glared at her and growled. In its face Irma could see Hay Lin. And in her mind Irma could her a distant faint voice.

"_Run… please run!_" said the softest voice Irma had ever heard. Glancing behind her Irma saw that the portal to Kandrakar was slowly closing. Irma's eyes found the dragon she knew to be Hay Lin one last time. And then, with all the strength she could muster Irma sprinted towards the portal, leaping through it at the last moment before it closed.

She was in Kandrakar. She was safe. And the voice that had told her to run… had been Hay Lin's…

* * *

Taranee ran desperately through the hall of Kandrakar, carrying Will's limp body in her arms. She could 'see' the Oracle with her fire-sight. His energy was incredible, like the light of a sun! She could also see Will with her fire-sight, and the bright flames that had once wrapped around her were slowly dieing away.

She was almost there, only a little further.

"_Please hang on Will,_" thought Taranee desperately. "_Please, please hang on!_"

And then, Taranee was there, standing outside the doors that led to the Oracle. Taranee pushed against the doors with her shoulder. But they did not budge. She pushed harder, but still they did not move.

In desperation Taranee kicked the door and shouted for the Oracle. But neither the doors, nor the kneeling figure of the Oracle on the other side moved.

The power of fire rushed to her aid, lashing at the pristine white doors, scaring them black, but not cutting through them.

"Please!" shouted Taranee. "Please let me in!" but the Oracle did not move.

Taranee fell to her knees, still pushing with one hand against the door. Tears were flowing from her eyes and she did not notice that Will's fire had gone out.

* * *

The Oracle knelt motionless, deep in meditation all of his thoughts focused on the moment to come. A distant pounding came at the door to the chamber, but he could hardly hear it.

He had to remain focused. This moment was perhaps the most important moment ever. It was the moment that could change the very universe. It was the moment where he could no longer see the future. Beyond this moment there was nothing. And the repercussions of such a thing frighten him in a way he had never experienced before.

The pounding continued. All of this, he had seen. Taranee at the door, begging to be let in. But if he did that, she would only distract him and he would miss this most important moment.

And then the moment came, the moment he had waited for. The moment where his vision of the future would end. A moment in which even he would not know what was to come, or how the moment would end.

The air before him rippled, energy swirled together in a great column of light and when it receded, a very confused looking girl stood before him. Her features were dulled with the death that lingered on her, as if she were painted in black and white, except for her red hair.

The Oracle stood, but his body did not move. He too was painted in the same colors as the girl. The world around them shifted back and forth in dull colors and a soft hum vibrated in the air.

"Hello Will," said the Oracle softly. The girl's eyes snapped to the bald man, as if only just noticing him. Then her eyes narrowed in distrust.

"You!" hissed Will angrily. "You just can't leave me alone!"

"You remember me," said the Oracle calmly, ignoring Will's outburst. "That's a good sign."

"Oh, believe me," sneered Will. "I wish I could forget you." The Oracle did not respond to this, instead he waited patiently for Will to speak. And at last she did, her anger getting the better of her.

"So what do you want?" asked Will.

"I want you to stay," said the Oracle. Will's expression hardened but she did not answer. "You have served Kandrakar as a Guardian, and there is a place for you here."

Will looked around the small circular room as though just noticing it for the first time. The floor had an interact pattern carved across it.

There were two doors that stood across from each other. One door was small and uninteresting. To Will, that door might just have been a wall instead for all the good it did her. But the other door was tall, going from floor to tall ceiling. This door was filled with brilliant light that felt warm and inviting, and Will longed to go through it and see what was on the other side.

"Will!" said the Oracle, more loudly than any words he had ever spoke to her. Will's attention was pulled from the door of light, although she continued to watch it out of her peripheral version. "You must accept my offer quickly. Time is very important."

"I don't want to be here, let alone stay," said Will, her eyes returning to the door of light. The Oracle moved to block her gaze. Will frowned at him angrily.

"Will, please understand," said the Oracle, his voice losing its normally stead tone. "If you do not stay here..." The Oracle could not finish. "You are dead, Will."

"I'm what?" cried Will in surprised. "I can't be… I'm not like unconscious or dreaming or anything. I'm dead?" As Will said it, she knew it was true, deep down in her… did she still have a heart now that she was dead?... she knew the Oracle was telling the truth.

"Kandrakar can create a new body for you, but only if you remain here," said the Oracle desperately, his calm all but dissolving.

"For how long?" asked Will, already knowing the answer.

"Forever, your new body would not be able to sustain itself outside of Kandrakar," said the Oracle, his eyes pleading with Will.

"No deal," said Will and she pushed past him.

"Will please!" cried the Oracle.

"NO!" Will shouted, angrier than she had ever been before. "You've manipulated me my whole life! You've tried to control my actions and make me do what you want!"

"I did it for…" the Oracle tired.

"For yourself!" shouted Will interrupting him. If she could have cried she would have. "I'm dead! And you're still looking to keep me as your pet! To cage me up in this place for ever and ever!" The Oracle had no words to speak, he just looked ashamed.

Without anymore words Will vanished through the door of light.

* * *

Authors Notes:

Thank you very much to the readers who took the time to leave me a review last chapter! XV-Dragon, DayDreamer9, lost prince, Darev and Steamrollers Solve All. (Reviews always makes my existence a little more meaningful)

Thank you everyone who came through and read my story!

I hope you've all enjoyed this little jaunt into the darkness. If you are fuming mad at the moment and considering a ranting review (or PM), take a deep breath, think of rainbows and puppies. Better now? Good. :D

OYFG, this chapter got crazy long. Maybe I will cut it down a little before I post it, but that seems unlikely. This was a difficult story for me, as you might be able to imagine. I've been pretty stressed these last couple of months and coming home to write just didn't appeal to me like it usually does. All I can say is I'm glad I had a month with these chapter.

I knew this chapter was going to be massive back when I started work on this story. There were so many BIG things that needed to happen and unfortunately I think this chapter might be a little overwhelming. But I picked this formula for a reason and I'm sticking to that (not breaking this into two parts and making you all wait an extra month).

Please try to keep in mind that, like I said when we started, this is a bridge story, we aren't done, not by a long shot. There is one more (big) installment to this epic story (part 3! I can't give out the name just yet), in the works (I've written the ending and some fiddly bits in-between). So, try and keep the death threats to a minimum.

While you're welcome to ask me questions please keep in mind, I don't give out spoilers.

I also sadly can't give a date for when my last Witch story will start (yes, part 3 will be my last story in the universe of Witch), but I do plan to have it ready before the end of year (hopefully a lot sooner than that).

Thank you again for sticking with me over these many months. If you have questions feel free to leave a review (wink wink hint hint nudge nudge) or PM me and I will try to answer them.

Starwin out.


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